The Judgement
by Homer's Disciple
Summary: After nearly four years being on the run Anders is caught... but where is there left for his judgement? The Circles are still reforming and the Templars are in disarray,and so it the Inquisitor who must pass judgement on the the apostate who ignited the Mage-Templar War. Anders must face the consequences of his actions.
1. Capture

**Hey guys, I thought about this fic the moment I did the first judgement in DA:I  
What if Anders survived the ending of DA II and was brought before the Inquisition?  
Takes place just after DA: I which is four years after the Kirkwall Chantry was destroyed.**

**Note: This fic takes place in the same universe as Broken Promises.**

* * *

_**The Judgment**_

When the templars found him, he'd been hiding out in a cave in the middle of nowhere.

They'd taken him by complete surprise, a mark of how far he'd fallen in all this time.

He fought them but it had been five against one...

In the end, he'd suffered a bloodied nose and a badly bruised arm by the time they put him in chains.

His magic had been suppressed from him, damn the templars and their abilities.

_How did it come to this? _Anders thought.

For once he'd been strong, now he was weaker... no not weaker but rather _unstable._

He had trouble using his magic these days.

Over the years, Justice had begun to fight him for control. Not directly, even he wasn't sure where he ended and Justice began, but at times he felt emotions and thoughts that were not his own.

It made it hard for him to use his magic.

Then there was the blood running through his veins. The mark of all Grey Wardens, the Darkspawn taint that gave him the ability to sense their presence.

Only that been troubling as of late. He wasn't sure what had happened, for months he could hear the Darkspawn as he had never heard them before, where once it had been whispers had suddenly become shouting.

It was almost as if his Calling had arrived. But no, that would have been impossible.

It hadn't been thirty years yet.

Strange, he'd felt something similar when he'd ventured deep into the Warden prison with Hawke.

But he knew it couldn't be Corypheus again. Hawke killed him... he _saw _that evil thing get it's head cut off.

Regardless... that feeling had gone away weeks ago.

"Found you, you bastard" a templar hissed shoving Anders forward, and bring him out of his thoughts.

The man tugged on Anders's chains and hauled him out of his cave... out into the outside world after months of hiding.

"Are we sure it's him?" one templar asked another.

"It's him. He can grow a beard, and his hair may be graying, but the phylactery doesn't lie" another templar answered.

Anders, whom had frozen as he listened to their conversation, was suddenly shoved forward.

_My phylactery... so they managed to find that did they? I thought I'd gotten rid of it... unless they made copies _he thought.

"Apostate! Move!" a templar shouted, shoving him forword again.

Anders stumbled and fell to his knees, the chains made it hard for him to move.

"Get up!" another said hauling him to his feet.

_This isn't going to be pleasant _Anders thought as the templars shoved him forward.

* * *

Hours later, after walking for miles they'd finally stopped in some dark woods.

Anders didn't know where they were anymore. He didn't know much of anything of the outside world anymore.

He was still in the Free Marches, he knew that much. Funny, how being on the run seemed to mess with his sanity.

The templars had set up camp for the evening.

They had chained Anders up to a tree before getting comfortable around their camp fire.

He said nothing as the templars ate in front of them, not a single one of them offering him even a drink of water.

Anders tried to move his hands, to summon the Arcane magic he'd learned during his time with the Wardens and break his chains, but no.

The templars had taken his magic from him.

Every four hours, like clockwork, they used Silence on him to make sure he was never able to use even a fraction of his power.

Smart, he may not have been as stable as he had been before. But he was still a mage, and all it took for him to lay waste to his enemies was a wave of his hand.

He was snapped out his thoughts when he heard the templars arguing about him.

Anders looked up with hazy tired eyes and saw the templars yelling at each other.

"We should kill him right here and now!" one shouted, this one a human male.

"Cane listen! It isn't like it was before and you know it! The Order isn't what it used to be!" the leader of the templars, a human female said.

_The Order isn't what it used to be? Have the mages took them down? I've been in hiding for too long... I know next to nothing about the outside world _Anders realized.

Anders watched the templars arguing over his fate before closing his eyes in frustration.

He was tired and felt a hundred years old. He hardly looked like his old self since the events at Kirkwall.

He'd lost weight while on the run, attaining a more gaunt almost skeletal look, grown a beard that he'd hadn't been able to keep clean, and his hair had gone unwashed and started to gray as of late.

That was of little concern to Anders now though.

He had wanted to be the spark that ignited change, the revolutionary whom freed the mages.

Instead he'd become a fugitive on the run and in the end, the templars had found him again.

Not even his fellow Apostates had stood with him.

Anders had tried to regroup with the rebel mages after Kirkwall, but a lot of mages despised him for turning them into fugitives. Those that praised him for his actions where often not the revolutionaries that Anders had thought they would be, but rather cold and ruthless fools.

And so he'd fled from his own people, fellow Apostates on the run...

It had been for the best. His presence had done more harm than good among the rebel mages, he brought divides among their ranks and they couldn't have that.

At least that's what he told himself.

So Anders had left it to others to lead the rebel mages across Thedas.

The templars had their own leaders, but as he had just been captured... he didn't think things were going so well for the mages.

Anders opened his eyes again and looked at the templars arguing again.

"The Inquisition would be the best option!" the leader was shouting.

She seemed to being having trouble with one of her men, Cane his name was apparently.

Anders chuckled as he realized something.

_Of course, it had to be a woman who captured me._

"What the hell are you laughing at!" a templar shouted.

Anders gulped as suddenly he felt cold steel at his throat.

One of the templars, Cane, had unsheathed his longsword.

Anders met this Cane's glare with one of his own.

"My sister was in the chantry at Kirkwall" Cane hissed at him.

Anders stared at the templar unblinkingly.

"She used to teach children the chant of light... and then _you _killed her! You murdered an entire chantry full of innocent people!" Cane shouted.

"... and how many sisters have you killed?" Anders asked coldly.

That took the templar aback.

"Wha-" Cane began.

"How many _innocents_ have you murdered? How many mages did you kill to 'serve the Maker'. How many Apostates or frightened children did you put to the sword or worse... made _Tranquil!_" Anders said coldly.

All the templars stood silent.

"How many! How many kids! How many parents! Siblings! Not so easy when you have your eyes opened is it? To realize your enemy is actually people and not some nightmare you can kill guilt-free? To realize that they _all _had families!" Anders shouted back.

Cane spat on him.

The Apostate flinched but stared unblinking.

"Do it" Anders said coldly.

The templar pressed the blade of his longsword to the Apostate's throat.

"NO!" the leader shouted and two templars grabbed Cane by his arms.

Anders scoffed as the longsword left his throat and Cane was hauled back.

"They'll kill him anyway! The Order! The Wardens! The Inquisition! It doesn't matter... he _dies _no matter who orders it" Kane shouted.

_He's not wrong _Anders thought darkly.

"That's enough!" the leader shouted, she was growing impatient.

"The Wardens are even more disordered than the templars. The only place we take him is the Inquisition, and that's final" the leader said sternly, her word law.

Anders shifted uncomfortably in his chains, the tree made his back hurt and his chest was aching the longer he was forced to sit up.

_Justice... she wishes to be just. She should have done that ages ago... when the mages were suffering under the templars' rule _A voice that was not his own seemed to say in Anders's mind.

"There is no justice in this world" Anders muttered to himself. He did that a lot lately.

"You shut up!" the leader said snapping back at him.

Anders made to raise his hands up in surrender, but remembered that he was chained to a tree barely able to move.

Instead Anders nodded.

The leader turned away from him and addressed another templar.

"Make sure he's given enough food and water to live. We don't want him dying yet. Tomorrow we head for Skyhold" she said.

_Skyhold? _Anders thought.

Later, as Anders was gulping down the little water that had been afforded to him, he managed to chuckle inwardly.

_Well... at least they remembered to feed me _he thought.

* * *

**Short, I know. I liked writing Anders in this state, time on the run, Justice, and the Darkspawn taint have taken their toll on him. He's almost a broken man at times, but he's still firm in his beliefs.  
Next chapter will probably be longer.  
We'll get to see Anders interact with the Inquisition and the templars and mages.  
People will have different opinions on the consequences of his actions**

**Thanks for Reading and please Review!**


	2. The Road to Skyhold

**Hey guys, back again,  
This chapter is a quite longer than the first, but I had fun writing it**

* * *

**The Road to Skyhold**

"Are you going to keep glaring at me? It doesn't make me go any faster" Anders said glancing at the templar watching him warily.

The former Warden stood, still in chains, amid the woods before a bush where he was answering a call of nature.

"Hurry up" the templar said coldly.

The piss went on and on and Anders sighed softly.

He'd been holding that in for hours before his captors had finally set up camp again.

They at least had the decency to let a man piss.

"What's this Skyhold you're taking me too?" Anders asked humming to himself.

The templar said nothing, but Anders could feel the man's glare upon his back.

He knew how templars were, he knew what they expected. A frightened captive, or else a madman, but Anders didn't give them the satisfaction.

He had hummed to himself whilst on the road, it had resulted in a smack to the back of the head more than once.

Still, he never let them affect him.

To the templars, Anders seemed merely bored. And _that _angered them more than anything else he could have done. It wasn't as easy as one would think to keep up, Anders was still very haggard from his time on the run.

"There, all done" Anders said managing to keep that cheerful yet bored tone.

He zipped up and turned to his captor adding "don't suppose you'll let me wash my hands? Have any soap?"

His answer had been another smack to the head before being hauled back to camp and chained to a tree-stump.

Later that night, Anders began humming again as four of the five templars slept. One stayed awake to keep watch over him.

"Hmm Hm" Anders hummed into the night despite his weariness.

The templar whom stood watch over him shook his head in disgust.

"What the hell is wrong with you" the man muttered as Anders hummed.

_More than you think _Anders thought.

* * *

Crossing the Waking Sea eventually led them back to Kirkwall.

It hadn't been a pleasant experience for Anders, thankfully the templars had kept his identity a secret as they were transporting him to the Gallows to take ship.

Wandering through the streets of his former home, Anders couldn't help but notice the signs of ongoing reconstruction and the wandering militia as well as city guards and templars.

_Militia? When did the citizens of Kirkwall form militias? _Anders thought.

He thought he saw his old... well they hadn't been friends at the end had they? Regardless, Anders thought he saw Aveline with a squad of her guardsmen patrolling the streets.

She looked like she'd been through a lot recently, a hard frown seemed to have permanently worked its way onto her face, and she looked like she was being overworked.

Anders had stopped in his tracks at the sight of her, he thought about calling out to her but what could he say?

Instead the templars had tugged on his chains and he'd fallen face first into the pavement.

"Keep up" the leader of the templars, Jennifer he'd learned her name was, said hauling him back up.

...

Taking ship from the Kirkwall Gallows had taken a bit longer than they'd expected.

It seemed a few templars stationed there had recognized Anders and when they'd seen him in chains being dragged along by members of the order, they'd nodded their approval or else made to spit on him.

Surprisingly, Jennifer had stopped them saying that "he's on his way to be judged. Besides, people have been spitting on him since the day we caught him."

"He deserves it" one templar had said as they boarded their ship.

Anders had wisely kept quiet throughout the whole thing, and only spoke once their ship had set sail.

The city in chains growing ever smaller in the distance.

"What happened there? The mages are all gone?" Anders said breaking the silence.

He and the templars were below deck in the cargo hold, they were uneasy with transporting a mage, even a Silenced mage, so the templars had elected to all watch over him.

They gave him annoyed looks.

Anders scoffed saying "templars killed all of them did they?"

"If only" Cane said glaring daggers at him.

_So they're still alive then... some of them at least. Good. _Anders thought.

"Jennifer" Anders said turning to the leader of the templars.

She ignored him.

Anders shifted uncomfortably and his chains rattled as he did so.

"Tell me this at least, what happened in Kirkwall? Looks like the city was under siege, and militia patrolling the streets alongside the city guard and the templars? ... what happened?" the Apostate asked pleadingly.

Jennifer was silent for a long moment but she turned to him with stern, hard eyes.

"That's because Kirkwall was under siege. And it was because of you" she said.

"Me?" Anders asked confused.

_That doesn't make sense. I only got the mages to rebel... the templars wouldn't siege an entire city for that... no they might for the Circle. But a whole city? What would be the point? _he thought.

"It was Sebastian Vael" Jennifer said to Anders's astonishment.

"What-" he stuttered.

"After the chantry was destroyed and the Grand Cleric murdered... he left Kirkwall and reclaimed his throne. Months later, Starkhaven launched an invasion of Kirkwall attempting to annex the city. Sebastian claimed it was vengeance, and that Kirkwall was the key to finding you" Jennifer answered.

_All that just for the Grand Cleric? All that just to find me? Blighted Idiot! I wasn't in the city anymore! _Anders thought angrily.

"The Prince of Starkhaven failed. Guard Captain Vallen led the defense of the city, and they held out as long as they could, but in the end they asked the Inquisition for help. Military aid was given, and the prince was sent running back to Starkhaven" Jennifer said finishing her tale.

She never dropped her cold demeanor Anders noticed.

Anders had more questions, he wanted to know more about this Inquisition, but judging from the look on Jennifer's face, he knew not to push his luck.

Instead Anders shook his head saying "damn Sebastian. Idiot."

"You met him, did you? There were rumors..." Jennifer said coldly.

"Aye, I knew him... royal bastard shot me" Anders muttered.

Anders's chains rattled as he raised a hand to the scar on his throat... the scar that Sebastian Vael's arrow had given him roughly four years ago.

* * *

_Later_

Whatever Skyhold was, it had not been what Anders was expecting.

The fortress sat in a stretch of the Frostback Mountains near the Dales, on the border between Orlais and Ferelden, and was currently headquarters to the Inquisition. Traffic was coming and going, from merchants, to soldiers, and Anders's surprise, mages as well.

_Mages? Mages coming to Skyhold! What's happened! They're not even in chains! They're free..._Anders thought as Jennifer and her templars hauled him pass the gates.

Jennifer had sent word ahead about whom she was bringing with her, and so the guards let them through with ease. They found a dozen templars waiting for them.

Sir Cullen was among the templars that met them, his eyes found Anders's.

_You! _Cullen's glare seems to say.

Sir Cullen had been there at Kirkwall, had been there when Anders had blown up the chantry. The templar had even seen him as a young man back in the Ferelden Circle many years ago.

Anders made quite the scene as he was let inside the fortress, apparently it's rare these days to see templars dragging an Apostate in chains behind them.

Before Anders could see much, Jennifer placed a bag over his head and he started sweating as the templars led him somewhere...

Barely managing to keep pace with the templars, awkwardly placing one foot in front of the other, he overheard Cullen speaking with Jennifer.

"We found him in the Free Marches held up in a cave. He doesn't seem to know what's happened. Didn't know nothing about the Inquisition or the Inquisitor" Jennifer said.

"Corypheus?" Cullen asked and Anders jolted as he nearly tripped over himself. _That thing is dead. I saw Hawke cut its head off... _Anders thought.

"No... he knows nothing" Jennifer answered.

"Maker's breath" Cullen swore.

Anders was brought inside a chamber, he thought so because it suddenly became very cramped and the air seems to thin.

"The Inquisitor is out with her squad at the moment. We'll have to keep him here until she returns" Cullen said as they came to a stop.

Anders managed to hold in his gasp as the templars pulled the bag off his head and he was thrown into a prison cell.

He scrambled to his feet and turned to face the templars, just as the door slammed shut and he heard the lock click.

"You could have at least taken off the chains" Anders said raising his hands to the bars of his cell, the chains in question rattling as he did so.

Cullen and Jennifer ignored him.

"This cell is inlaid with templar iron. Your magic won't work here" Jennifer said.

_As if I hadn't already figured that out _Anders thought.

"You'll wait here until your judgement. Food and water will be given to you twice a day, consider yourself lucky" Cullen said as if reading a script.

Then without another word, the templars left him alone in his cell.

...

Sometime later Anders paced back and forth in his cell uncomfortably, the chains on his arms rattling constantly as he did so.

His cell was bigger than he expected, he could roam a few feet without smacking into a wall, an empty bucket had been conveniently left for him, and although there was no bed he had enough to space to lay on the floor.

He wasn't sure how much time he spent pacing back and forth, bored out of his mind, before he laid down to get what sleep he could.

In many ways it reminded him of when he'd first been taken to the Circle as a young boy.

Years on the run had given him the ability to sleep on any surface, and so it was that he found himself drifting off to sleep.

What else could he do? His magic was suppressed here.

* * *

Anders dreamed that he was back with the Wardens, back with the Hero of Ferelden and his squad... dreamed of being imprisoned again in the Silverite Mine.

...

"_They took our stuff! My pants! They took my bloody pants! No buddy takes Oghren's pants but Oghren!" the dwarf was shouting as he squirmed in his chains._

_Anders sighed as he shifted uncomfortably in his own._

"_I can honestly say I never expected to be in chains with you three. Ah, a Warden's life is full of surprises" Anders said managing to sit up despite the chains._

_"Oh shut up Anders" Nathaniel said scowled as he rolled on the floor trying to sit, he was having a hard time with his hands bound behind his back._

_"Make me" Anders said smirking._

_Nathaniel only swore under his breath as Oghren kept shouting about his lost pants, completely ignoring Anders and the others._

_There were five of them in the cell, Anders the mage, Justice, whom was possessing the dead body of the Grey Warden Kristoff, Nathaniel the ranger, Oghren the dwarf, and Agron the Hero of Ferelden and leader of the Wardens in Amaranthine. _

_The five of them had been captured by the unusually intelligent Darkspawn, and had awakened in chains with their weapons and gear taken from them._

_'And to think, I thought being conscripted into the Wardens was a good thing. No more templars, yeah instead I get bloody Darkspawn' Anders thought._

"_Quiet my companions. Our leader is working" Justice said rolling up into sitting position himself._

_Anders, Oghren, and Nathaniel turned to see Agron Tabris, the fabled Hero of Ferelden and Warden Commander of Amaranthine, the elven Warden who'd slain the Archedemon, was busy with his back to the wall of their cell._

_Agron had apparently woken up before any of them, and rolled himself up and managed to stand leaning against a wall. The living legend was shifting left to right against the wall as if fiddling with his chains._

"_Boss man, if Oghren and Justice here couldn't break these chains then there's no way you can-" Anders began only to gasp in shock._

_Agron shifted his weight, and suddenly his chains falling to the floor with a heavy thud._

"_You were saying?" Agron said in that soft yet forceful way of his, a voice that commanded respect._

"_How in the Maker's breath did you do that?" Anders asked as he and the other Wardens started in shock, with the exception of Oghren whom laughed like a madman._

"_I always keep a lockpick hidden on my body. Never know when those things come in handy" Agron said as Justice held up his hands._

"_Didn't they search-" Anders began as Agron knelt fiddling with Justice's chains._

"_You stash one for them to find, and one they __**don't **__find" Agron said with a shrug as Justice's chains fell to the ground._

_"Boss, I keep three on me. The Darkspawn took all of them, how'd you keep it hidden" Nathaniel asked wincing at his wounded pride._

_"You pick up things living in an Alienage, the City Guards could be real bastards to any elf with valuables" was Agron's answer._

_Anders shook his head smirking as Agron began to pick the lock on his chains._

_Oghren was still laughing like madman, the dwarf howling into their cell and nearly shouting "haha the boss man always has a plan!"_

_"Oghren" Agron called turning to face the dwarf, "what have we talked about you shouting out into the open?" he continued._

_The dwarf scowled saying "time and place."_

_"Time and place" Agron said and Oghren began muttering to himself in a considerably lower voice._

_"Damn straight, the dwarf is almost as bad Anders" Nathaniel said scowling from the floor where he lay unable to get into a sitting position._

_"Oh shut up Nathaniel" Anders said smirking at the sight of the man rolling on the floor helplessly, before turning his gaze to Oghren._

_'Ha! Boss man is the only one who can control the dwarf' Anders thought at an almost silenced Oghren._

_He looked down, watching Agron fiddle with his chains._

"_One of these days you have to teach me how to do that" Anders said standing up as his chains fell with a thud._

_The Hero of Ferelden seemed to consider that._

"_Ask me later, and maybe I'll teach you" Agron muttered moving to free Nathaniel, even as Justice walked forward and lifted the poor man up into a sitting position._

_"Thanks" Nathaniel said hurriedly to Justice and Agron as they freed him of his chains._

_Lastly, Agron freed Oghren. The dwarf was grinning and eager for a fight as the chains fell from his hands. _

_Once all five of them were free, Agron picked the lock on the door of their cell. From there, they headed out in search of their stolen equipment and to find this so called Architect that the Darkspawn followed._

"_You know; you never did say where you learned that? Picking locks and unraveling chains" Anders whispered as the Wardens moved quietly through the mine._

_Agron had frozen at that, he usually didn't share his personal life, but today it seemed was an exception._

_The Hero of Ferelden turned to him saying "... my girlfriend."_

"_Kinky" Anders said smirking. _

* * *

Anders woke with a start as the sound of a plate being slid through his bars of his cell got his attention.

The man never once spoke to him. Anders stirred glancing down at the plate of before him even as the sound of footsteps was growing further and further distant.

"He probably spat in my food" Anders muttered to himself, he did that a lot lately.

Anders shook his head and grabbed the stale, cold, mash potatoes that had been afforded him.

_Maker how old are these? _Anders thought chewing on the potatoes until his teeth hit something that definitely wasn't food.

Anders froze mid-chew.

The Apostate knelt down before the cell floor and spat the mash potatoes out.

_Gross _Anders thought as he searched through the food he'd just regurgitated onto the floor. His fingers found what was he looking for and he pulled it out of the food, staring with wide eyes.

Someone had placed a single pin inside his mash potatoes.

"Always knew those lessons with Agron would come in handy" Anders muttered as he slid the pin into the lock of his chains.

Picking the lock on the chains that had bound him since the Free Marches had taken time, but he'd been able to do it despite not being a master as Agron had been.

The former Warden sighed as he stretched his arms and legs after days, no weeks, of strain.

"Now for the door" he said.

The door to his cell took longer for him to pick then his chains had. He'd nearly broken his pin twice during the process, but in time the lock clicked again and Anders gently pushed the door open.

Stepping out into the chamber of what Anders assumed was the dungeons, he realized he had no clue of where to go now.

Whomever had left that pin for him hadn't seemed to think things through very clearly.

How had they known he could pick the locks? And no note? No instructions of any kind?

Very sloppy, but at the moment Anders wasn't complaining.

Anders quietly walked along the chamber and as he stepped further and further away from his cell... he felt his magic returning to him.

Silence had finally worn off, and without the inlaid templar iron there was nothing to suppress his magic anymore.

He wandered the chamber aimlessly for a while, he'd had a bag over his head when he'd been brought in, so he knew next to nothing about the layout.

Finally, he reached a corner and heard footsteps... Anders froze.

He pressed himself tightly to the corner and listened to the jail keeper, the man who'd brought him his food, walking along the chamber.

_Somehow I don't think he left me that pin _Anders thought.

Taking a deep breath, Anders waited patiently for the jail keeper to approach his corner in the dark dungeon.

Suddenly Anders leapt around the corner and tackled the jail keeper, taking the man completely by surprise.

"Ah!" the jail keeper cried out as Anders shoved him into the wall.

Summoning the Arcane magic, he'd learned from his time with the Wardens, Anders got behind the jail keeper and put the man into a lock, his arms wrapped around the man's throat.

Though Anders was significantly weaker, having lost weight while on the run, the Arcane magic brought his strength up to nearly five men.

The jail keeper moaned as he lost oxygen, he raised his hands behind him trying to claw at Anders but the Apostate shifted left and right staying out of reach.

With one last groan the jail keeper stilled and lost consciousness slumping to the floor alongside Anders. Alive, but knocked out for Anders hadn't wanted to kill the man, only take him out for a few hours.

"That's twice I owe you now... Agron" Anders muttered.

The Hero of Ferelden had forced all Warden mages under his command to learn hand to hand combat as well as basic weapon training, he wanted his mages to defend themselves even without their magic.

In Amaranthine, that training had saved Anders's life more than once.

"Sorry mate" Anders said reaching down to trading clothes with the jail keeper.

The jail keeper's clothes fit him big, the man had been chubbier than Anders had been even before he'd been on the run. But it was all Anders had to work with.

Taking the man's keys, he eventually found the exit.

* * *

Anders emerged inside a hall of the fortress with no idea where he was.

He kept his head low and slouched his shoulder as he wandered the hallways of Skyhold.

He passed a few guards milling about and his heart beat so fast that he thought they were sure to hear it, but no one paid him any attention.

Apparently the guards and servants were used to seeing all manner of Inquisition workers milling about.

_This fortress is massive _he thought as he wandered, never lingering in one place and always walking as if he had somewhere to be.

After several hallways, and turns, Anders ended up climbed a few stairs and accidentally ended up walking into the kitchens.

"Eh? Hey! You'll have to wait for dinner like everyone else! No if, and, or buts!" a fussy elven woman said as they spotted Anders wearing the jail keeper's clothes.

Anders kept his head down and turned back the way he came, making sure no cook or servant saw his face.

"Hmm" he grunted as he left the way he came in.

No cooks questioned it, only scowling at the foolish jail keeper whom had tried to get dinner a little early.

In time, Anders found himself emerging onto the Skyhold courtyard in the merchant's district.

He paused for a moment before walking along and joining the throngs of people shopping for wares.

Anders sneaked a hat from a clothing merchant and quickly put it on, better to conceal his face.

He reached into the jail keeper's pocket and found some coin there, not much but enough what for Anders had in mind.

Acting quickly, he grabbed the first coat that looked like it fit him and paid for it without saying a word. The merchant was happy to take his money either way.

_How the hell do I get out of here? _the Apostate thought sliding the coat over himself.

Walking further along the courtyard, Anders saw stairs leading to an upper level of Skyhold, where he spotted what looked like a tavern.

_Could get lost in the crowd there. Try to get some info, but then what? And what if someone who knows the real jail keeper spots me _Anders thought darkly.

He decided against it and continued on.

Anders soon learned that the Skyhold courtyard was enormous.

Complete with stables, the merchant district he'd just left, aid tents where healer had set up shop, and even what looked like a make shift arena set up by some soldiers for some off duty fun.

But that wasn't what Anders was looking for as he passed the throngs of people milling about, mages and templars, soldiers and healers, scholars and merchants.

_The gates! Now to find a way out... _Anders thought as he headed for them, seeing that only two guards had been posted there.

Only for his worst nightmare to emerge from the stairs that led to the upper levels of the Skyhold courtyard...

Sir Cullen and Jennifer, the templar who'd led the squad that captured him, both in full templar armor had emerged onto ground floor where Anders was.

He quickly turned around hoping that they wouldn't notice an odd man walking in clothes that seemed to fit him a tad too big.

* * *

"The repairs are still ongoing I see" Jennifer was saying as she walked with Cullen.

"We've come a long way. When the Inquisition first rediscovered Skyhold, the place was a ruin. Months later, it's not only livable but flourishing" Sir Cullen said as they walked.

The templars walked side by side, they'd caught up with each other in the Skyhold tavern, but now they were on their way to check up on another old friend in the Order who'd been wounded in battle.

The healers had set up shop on the ground floor of the courtyard, and that was where the templars had been heading when suddenly Jennifer froze.

"Something wrong?" Cullen said turning to face his sister in arms.

"That's can't be..." Jennifer said slowly as she pulled a pendant from her side pouch.

A pendant that held a glass vial filled with human blood.

The Phylactery in Jennifer's hand began to vibrant the moment she pulled it free.

Sir Cullen stared wide eyed at the Phylactery.

"This is Anders's Phylactery" Jennifer said holding it up and channeling the templars power into it.

Anders's Phylactery stirred as Jennifer raised it higher into the air.

"It shouldn't be reacting this much... he's in a cell in the dungeons" Cullen said looked around the courtyard warily.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes and spotted a lone figure in a hat and long coat heading for the merchant district.

"You there! Halt!" she called heading for the man.

The man ignored her and Jennifer strode after him.

Sir Cullen followed after her, a hand on the hilt of his longsword...

* * *

Anders cursed as Jennifer began following him.

Jennifer held the Phylactery in her hand and pointed it directly at her target's back. The glass vial glowed bright red...

"It's him!" Jennifer cursed.

"He escaped?!" Cullen said barely believing it.

Just as Anders was about to disappear back into the crowd of people in the merchant's district, Jennifer's sharp voice called out getting everyone's attention.

"The man wearing the hat and brown coat is an escaped prisoner!" Jennifer shouted with the tone of a drill sergeant.

The effect was almost instantaneous. The crowd of buyers parted, all eyes on Anders, as Cullen pointed at him.

"THAT IS ANDERS! THE MAN WHO IGNITED THE MAGE-TEMPLAR WAR. HE'S TRYING TO ESCAPE!" Jennifer shouted.

"Guards seize him!" Sir Cullen barked as the people were in uproar, running in their attempt to flee from Anders and the approaching guards.

News travels quickly it seems, there must have been rumors of his arrival. The people seemed to know that he'd been brought in as a prisoner.

Anders turned this way and that, frozen in place as the people around him ran in all directions, yet he could see guards and off duty templars closing in on him.

"It's him!" he heard one woman, a mage, shout as she fled the scene.

"Murderer!" Anders heard another woman shout at him.

_Smack_

Anders flinched as a piece of fruit crashed into his face with such force that he stumbled back.

He looked up seeing a fruit merchant making to grab something else to throw at him. He scowled at her, and the fruit merchant seemed to realize that throwing things at a mage was not a good idea.

She ran away with all the other merchants soon after.

_Fight or flight_ Anders thought.

He chose fight.

Anders raised a hand and sent a burst of flame magic towards two off duty templars who'd been heading his way.

The templars jumped back avoiding the flames as Anders ran the other way.

He didn't know where he was going, but Anders cast spell after spell, sending flame and lightning out, forcing the guards and templars back.

An arrow whizzed pass his head, missing him by less than an inch.

"No killing! We want him alive!" Sir Cullen shouted unsheathing his longsword and shield.

Anders cast Rock Armor on himself, encasing his body in a magical layer of armor, just as an arrow took him in the knee.

The arrow bounced off harmlessly as Anders threw caution to the wind and made a beeline for the gates, only Sir Cullen and Jennifer stood in his way.

Anders raised a hand but stumbled as an Inquisition guard managed to sneak up on him and tackle him, trying to bring him to the ground.

But Anders channeled the Arcane magic amplifying his physical strength, he stumbled but did not fall. Anders grunted as he threw the guard off of him as easily.

Jennifer and Cullen were closing ranks on him, they'd spread out in typical templar procedure, giving the mage two opponents on two different sides to focus his spells on in the hope that if one templar failed, the other would succeeded.

Luckily, neither Cullen nor Jennifer were close enough to use Silence on him.

"Justice... give me strength" Anders muttered to himself, he did that a lot lately.

He felt the familiar stirring inside of him, and his magic surged growing in power but becoming less stable and harder to focus.

Anders cast a wall of flame magic in front of Cullen, the flames erupting into existence with a hiss, and stopping the templar from chasing him for the moment.

Then he turned and cast an unstable but powerful Stonefist at Jennifer, the fist of magical stone that emerged from Anders's hands slammed into her and she went fly back several feet.

Jennifer landed with a heavy thud... followed by the sound of denting armor. She moaned loudly, a rib or two had been fractured. Anders hadn't meant to do that; he'd only wanted to clear an opening for himself.

He didn't have time to contemplate though as he ran for the gates.

The two guards station there had seen what Anders had done and fled the scene, leaving their post unmanned.

_Almost there _Anders thought even as another arrow bounced harmlessly of his layer of Rock Armor.

Cullen dispelled the wall of flame magic with a chant and a wave of his hand. The flames dying down and fading into harmless smoke. Cullen cursed as he strode forth to follow after Anders, but a voice stopped him... a _familiar_ voice.

"Stay back, I'll handle this" the woman said.

"You?" Sir Cullen said turning to see a lone mage striding past him, she had no love for him but he knew better than to tangle with her.

Anders was feet away from the gates... when suddenly he found himself being forced back by some unseen force.

_Something _was pulling him back and he was powerless to stop it.

"Pull of the Abyss... Force Magic" Anders said in shock as he was dragged back dozens of feet. His layer of Rock Mage useless here.

Without thinking about it, Anders whirled around casting an unstable but powerful Chain Lightning at the enemy mage.

Only Anders gulped in shock and horror as he saw _who _had been dragging him back into the courtyard...

**Bethany Hawke.**

She was almost thirty years old now, wearing the robes of a former Circle mage, and looking at him with such cold fury that he had trouble believing it was the same sweet girl he'd once known in Kirkwall.

Hawke's little sister, so pure... so innocent.

_What have I done?! _Anders thought as the lightning left his hands.

Bethany only calmly gripped her staff, casting Unshakable.

A 'bubble' of Force Magic surrounded her body, rooting her down and suppressing all physical and elemental attacks... gravity itself acting as her shield as she become the very essence of an unmovable object.

Anders's lightning never even touched Bethany, it caught and tangled at her bubble of Force Magic, before contracting onto itself and seeming to fall apart into nothing.

Nothing, not dragon fire, not even a black hole, could hurt or move Bethany in that state.

"When did you get that strong" Anders whispered as he was suddenly_ lifted into the air_.

Anders closed his eyes as Bethany's Force magic held him mid-air, nearly two stories above the ground... before she lowered her hand and sent Anders slamming down with a heavy thud.

He cried out in pain, his Rock Armor cracking, as he lay on the ground.

Anders made to get up but Bethany cast Fist of the Maker on him, and he coughed violently as her unseen force slammed him into the ground so hard he sank an inch into the stone pavement.

_My Rock Armor... _Anders thought in despair at the sight of his magical armor cracking.

"Bethany... please" Anders moaned as her unseen force slammed him into the ground again and he sank deeper into the crater she'd made.

_An ally dares to raise a hand against us. We will have Justice... Vengeance! Vengeance! _a voice that was not Anders's said inside his head.

"No" Anders whispered in horror as the blue flames erupted from his body.

"**I am Justice!**" Anders's body yelled breaking free of the Force Magic and standing up. The voice that erupted into sound was not Anders's, it was cold and hard, vengeful.

_That thing again! _Cullen thought warily.

"Oh. It's you" Bethany said staring at Anders's body with contempt.

"**You turn against your own kind. You will burn!**" Justice roared raising one of Anders's hand.

But Bethany was quicker, she waved a hand and Justice went sliding back. Yet Justice did not fall.

Standing tall and unbound, he did not break, he did not fall even as Bethany's force slammed into him in waves strike after strike of unseen force. Cullen stared at the sight, the raw power of Justice to stand against its foes.

Justice scoffed off Bethany's Force Magic and began striding towards her, menace in it's cold eyes.

Bethany took a deep breath and placed both hands on her staff channeling her Force at the ground beneath Justice's feet.

Justice roared as he was suddenly pulled to the ground, gravity fighting to bring him to the ground, yet the spirit fought the unseen force. Justice roared kneeling down, but never falling, not even with gravity itself turned against it.

Bethany lifted a hand up and Justice felt her unseen force hoist him up again, lifted two stories in the air. She gritted her teeth, feeling the thing fighting to break free of her grasp and actually doing it.

Justice roared in mid-air, nearly breaking free of the unseen holding him, but Bethany sent him flying like some sort of rag doll. Slamming the abomination into the stone walls of the fortress... again and again.

Loud cracks thundered onto the courtyard as Justice's spirit armor began to crack before finally shattering before their eyes, the flames disappearing from Anders's body.

Cullen watched with horrid fascination as Justice's magical armor was destroyed by the sheer force of Bethany's attacks... never in all his time as a templar had he ever seen anything like that.

Magical shields were always dispelled, never shattered. That was the point... they were supposed to be unbreakable.

Bethany lowered her hand and Anders floated gently through the air landing back on the ground, his armor gone and his face bruised and bloodied.

Justice had been defeated leaving only Anders the man.

Without another word, Bethany pointed at Anders and he found himself pressed face first into the pavement... he felt as if his muscles weighed a thousand pounds.

He couldn't move a finger even if he had the strength to try.

Bethany turned to Cullen saying "you should be more careful when you lock him up."

"I... yes" Cullen said before shouting at his templars to restrain Anders.

When the templars reached the fallen Anders, they put him in chains again, but were unable to lift him... it was if Anders weighed a thousand pounds.

Cullen turned to Bethany asking "what did you do to him?"

"I manipulated the gravity around his body. Made him 'heavier' you could say" Bethany said as she released her spell on Anders.

Anders let out a small groan as he felt his body returning weight, yet every bone in his body ached. He felt hands grab him, and he closed his eyes in the sheer pain it caused.

He managed to turn his blackened and bloodied face to Bethany.

"Why..." he said in a broken voice as the templars dragged him away.

Bethany crossed her arms saying nothing.

She only looked at him with those cold unforgiving eyes.

Later that night, Anders breathed painfully in his new cell.

Two armed templars had been station outside.

He lay on the floor too weak to move, he must have had several fractures on his bones and dozens of bruises. He wondered how the templars thought he was still a threat.

Anders groaned as he tried to stretch his arms and legs but found that he couldn't.

It hurt too much.

"All that... and I'm back where I started" Anders whispered softly through the pain, he did that a lot lately.

* * *

**Quite a few cameos this chapter eh?  
And Bethany Hawke! You do not want to piss her off. For why she's in Skyhold, check out my other fic Broken Promises.  
She will play a role in this story.  
We'll see a bit more companions next chapter and the Inquisition will not be happy about what happened in the merchant district.**

**Thanks for Reading and please Review!**


	3. Old Friends?

**Hey guys, back again.**

T**his chapter is more character based than plot based.**  
**Another few cameos here and there, and we get to see the Inquisitor and the other powerful women in the world of Thedas.**  
**Thanks for reading! **

* * *

**Old Friends?**

Somewhere in the haze of pain that was his consciousness, Anders could hear voices speaking in contempt.

"They should have killed him right then and there" one voice said.

"Wasting our resources keeping him alive? And for what" said another.

He winced in pain as the people speaking turned him over and lifted his arm. He remembered Bethany lifting him into the air and slamming him around the fortress as if he was some sort of rag doll.

His body still ached from that fight, and the people handling him didn't seem to care.

Anders blinked, barely aware of where he was when the people began wrapping his arm in bandages.

They were not gentle with him, and Anders groaned as he was shoved roughly left and right, the healers tending to his wounds.

"Stop" he managed to moan weakly.

They were making it worse with how they handled him, Anders would have preferred to have let sleep take him.

Or perhaps at this point... oblivion.

"What's that? You want to die do you? Well too bad, the Inquisitor has command you live... for now" one of the voices said coldly.

"No use in talking to a dead man, leave him be" the other voice said.

"It hurts..." Anders moaned as a healer rubbed a salve on the bruised skin of his arm.

"Let it" said that voice.

And so Anders lay there, the healers taking as little joy from treating him as he did.

He managed to open his eyes every now and again. He could see the interior of his cell as well as the healers and the templars stationed outside. But something caught his eye even in his dazed state of mind.

Standing just behind the templars... was a young boy.

A young boy with a mop of brown hair wearing rags and a hat.

_Why are you watching me? _he tried to say, but Anders lacked the strength. Instead he lay there, until the healers were finished with their 'work'.

He listened to their footsteps as they left his cell, but Anders no longer cared. His body ached, and so he laid there, barely conscious, and wishing for sleep to come and take him.

Only Anders wasn't alone, the boy from before was still there watching him from outside his cell.

The young man looked him over curiously.

"So much pain. How could she do that to me? Friends shouldn't hurt friends" the young boy said as Anders curled into a ball barely aware of the world around him.

The young boy knelt before the bars of his cell.

"I feel it inside you... that dark thing. It no longer knows what it is. Angry, so very angry... and hurt. So much pain. But who's anger? Whose pain? It's or yours?" the young boy said.

Anders was dead to the world, only breathing softly and trying to ignore the pain.

"**Two in one... who is the host and who is in control? Neither can say anymore. Neither seems to care anymore**. So much hurt. Tangled too far... I wouldn't even know where to begin" the boy said somberly.

The young boy reached a hand into the cell and patted the prisoner across his arm.

"Sleep and forget the pain" the boy said.

Anders slept and as he did so, the pain vanished if only for a moment.

* * *

Word had spread quickly about the incident in the Skyhold courtyard. Of the man who had ignited the Mage-Templar war, _almost_ escaping.

Everywhere in the fortress it seemed, from the servants to the guards, to the former circle mages, templars, and to the merchants, Anders was the only thing worth talking about.

Tales were told in the Skyhold tavern, with a many a man or woman claiming to have seen the incident first hand.

However, those that had seen it gossiped not only of Anders, but the woman whom stopped him.

"You see that Bethany Hawke? Maker! She took him down like he was nothing. _Lifted _him into the air and slammed him back down." more than one tavern goer was heard saying.

And

"She knew him once too you know... that's what I heard some people say."

However, one dwarf sitting quietly at his table had only shook his head at the gossip.

Varric had been waiting for a while now, he usually met up with Bethany for a drink around this time but she hadn't shown up today.

He didn't blame her, not with all the attention she'd put on herself.

Then there was Anders.

"Blondie... you shouldn't have let yourself get caught" Varric muttered staring at his mug of ale.

* * *

"What happened to my courtyard?" Lyanna Trevelyan, the Inquisitor herself, said.

She was a tall woman with short hazelnut hair, a warrior and a champion, considered by many to be the Herald of Andraste.

The Ostwick noblewoman stood before her advisers in the war room, each of them filling her in on what she'd missed whilst she was away.

Today however, all three of her advisers reported on the same matter... Anders.

Lyanna had returned to Skyhold with her squad, only to find the courtyard had a crater in the ground and several cracks along the _stone _walls of the fortress.

"As I said Inquisitor, the prisoner escaped and a fight broke out" Cullen answered.

The commander of Inquisition's forces shifted uncomfortably as he spoke, it had been quite an embarrassment for the templars that their prisoner had escaped so soon after being put in his cell.

"How did he manage to escape?" Lyanna asked an eyebrow raised.

"He must have picked the lock. As to where he learned that skill I cannot say. I doubt he's as a good as any of my agents, but he knows the basics" Leliana said.

"Remarkably, Anders didn't kill anybody on his escape. Not even the poor jail keeper, whom was found unconscious in the dungeons, in only his smallclothes" Josephine said.

Lyanna smirked at that.

"Well, at least our prisoner left the jail keeper with that much dignity. When the jail keeper recovers, give him two weeks off, and assign two guards to cover for him. The poor man has been through enough" Lyanna said.

"Of course Inquisitor" Cullen said.

Lyanna nodded then turned to the one person whom hadn't spoken since being called into their little meeting in the war room.

Bethany Hawke, the former Circle mage, had stood watching the others curiously but felt no need to intervene.

Lyanna smiled softly at Bethany.

"I thank you, for aiding the templars in Anders's recapture" Lyanna said.

"But?" Bethany said.

"Did you really have to do all that damage? The poor stone masons were still restoring parts of the fortress when you put a few cracks in our walls" Lyanna said lightly.

"Yes, Inquisitor-" Bethany began only for Lyanna to shake her head.

"Bethany please, I told you to call me by name" Lyanna said.

The Inquisitor hadn't known Bethany for very long, however Lyanna still felt a terrible sense of guilt every time she looked at the girl.

Bethany looked so very much like her brother had, the same midnight black hair and blue eyes. Her brother, the hero who gave his life to help the Inquisition.

She knew the girl was grieving, but Bethany had Varric looking out for her and the Inquisitor was grateful for that.

"Lyanna..." Bethany corrected before continuing "I knew Anders back in Kirkwall. I've seen what he can become. When he's in that state he's strong. I didn't give him a chance to harm anyone, the only way to beat him is to overwhelm him. And that's what I did."

_The way she talks. Firm and confident, but humble too. Just like her brother, only her eyes are colder than his were _the Inquisitor thought.

Cullen spoke up saying "I was stationed at Kirkwall when Anders destroyed the chantry, I too have seen the abomination he can become. Ms. Hawke saved us a lot of trouble by putting him down before he hurt anyone."

Bethany glanced at Cullen curiously but said nothing. She had known of the templar, but they had never been friends.

"I see. I trust Cullen's word, if he says it was necessary than I believe him. You're free to go" Lyanna said.

Bethany nodded saying "I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble," before turning and leaving them to their business.

Once she was gone, the Inquisitor turned to Leliana saying "what are you thinking?"

"It's possible that Anders hid something on his body when he was first taken. The templars might have missed it when they searched him-" Leliana began.

"Impossible" Cullen cut in.

"Not so, do not let pride cloud your judgment. Whatever Anders is now, he was once a Grey Warden, and they have access to many teachers and skills" Leliana countered.

"Or?" Lyanna asked.

"Or perhaps someone gave it to him. Slipped it pass the guards somehow, there are ways to do it. My agents have done similar things in the past, though this was done very... sloppily. A professional would have had a better plan" Leliana said.

Turning to Josephine, the Inquisitor asked "who would want to help _him _of all people?"

"Plenty. Radicals among the mages, former circle or else apostate, or else enemies of the Inquisition. My guess is the former" Josephine said.

Cullen shook his head saying "after everything the Inquisitor did for the mages, letting them join us as equals, and now a few radicals try to undermine our efforts."

"Do you disagree with my choice?" Lyanna asked.

It wasn't a challenge or a counter, Lyanna had made very difficult choices in the past few months. Choices that would shape Thedas for ages to come, and there were days she still wasn't sure if she'd made the right decisions.

"No, Inquisitor. The Order and the Circles failed for a reason. More than that, I understand that we cannot judge an entire people based on the actions of a few. An old acquaintance told that me once and though I did not listen at the time... I believe he was right." Cullen said.

"Thank you, Cullen" Lyanna said.

"Regardless, news of Anders's capture will have no doubt spread far by now" Leliana said.

"Already, we have received letters from various nobility in the Free Marches and several former high ranking members of the templars" Josephine said.

"Let me guess, they all want Anders for themselves?" the Inquisitor said crossing her arms.

"... there's more" Josephine said slowly.

_I have a feeling I'm not going to like this _the Inquisitor thought.

"Tell me" she said.

All eyes on Josephine, the lady spoke saying "it appears the Grey Wardens have heard of Anders's capture and are sending envoys."

"After everything that's happen to their order? They should be trying to rebuild, not gotten involved in this mess" Cullen said scoffing.

Cullen didn't approval of everything the Warden's had done, but he respected them. He knew Thedas would have fallen to the Fifth Blight had it not been for their order, and that had been with only _two _of their junior members.

Leliana shook her head as Lyanna sighed.

"I should judge him guilty and be done with it" Lyanna said darkly.

"I agree" Cullen said.

"I'd advise against that" Josephine, and surprisingly Leliana, said in unison.

The Inquisitor turned to her spy master and political adviser warily, somehow she knew she wouldn't like what they had to say even if they were right.

"This won't be easy. Anders ignited the Mage-Templar war, powerful people from all over Thedas will want a hand in his judgment" Leliana said, her agents had already reported as such.

"I'm sorry to say Inquisitor, that this isn't just punishing a war criminal. This will affect our relationship with other powers in the world" Josephine said.

Anders, the Inquisitor decided, was going to be a troublesome matter.

* * *

Deep in the Skyhold dungeon, a lone prisoner lay curled into a ball on the floor of his cell.

Two templars were stationed outside, they were taking no chances with him it seemed.

Not that Anders could have tried anything even if he wanted to.

His bones ached and he had trouble moving. He was tired, and without his arcane magic giving him strength, he again felt as if he was a hundred years old.

Justice had taken its toll on his body as well. Whenever that happened... when Anders's body was enveloped in the blue flames it always left him exhausted.

Anders curled tighter into himself. The stone wasn't very comfortable and the Skyhold healers had done some work on his bones for him, but it seems they conveniently forgot to give him something for the pain.

Oddly enough, he'd somehow managed to get some sleep throughout all the pain the healers had caused him whilst they 'worked' on him.

It may not have been much, but sleeping had definitely got him some strength back.

There was the sound of footsteps outside his cell, but Anders didn't bother looking up. His templar guards were saying something but he didn't care.

_If they're gonna kill me... best get it over with _Anders thought, wincing in pain as he shuffled his feet.

"Blondie... you look like shit" a familiar voice said.

Anders stirred and managed to turn, his chains rattling heavily as he did so.

Leaning against the bars of his cell, Varric Tethras was gazing at him.

Only the dwarf wasn't his usual cheerful but dry self, he watched Anders with a wary almost unnerved gaze.

Laying there, in chains, with an unwashed beard, greying hair, the scar on his neck visible, and wearing robes that were too big for him, Anders had to admit his old friend had a point.

"I feel like shit" Anders groaned. He managed to get into a sitting position with his back to the wall, the chains and the pain made it hard but as long as he didn't tug too hard he was fine.

"Hello. Is Anders there? I. want. to. talk. to. Anders." Varric said frowning at him and speaking slow, as if he was hard of hearing.

_Is... is he pulling an Isabela? _Anders thought. Back in Kirkwall, Anders would that thought he was japing at him... but no. This was different, it was a joke that held no warmth.

"That wasn't funny when she said that either" Anders said.

"It's you then, not Justice" Varric muttered more to himself than to Anders.

"Yeah, it's me. What's wrong with you anyway? I haven't seen you in what? Four years? And that's the first thing you say" Anders said smiling weakly.

He'd enjoyed bantering with Varric back in Kirkwall, that seemed like a lifetime ago now.

Only Varric wasn't smiling. No laughter, no witty come back, the last person Anders had thought would ever grow cold.

"Ancestors... you look like a corpse" the dwarf said.

It was true, Anders had lost weight while on the run. Adopting a gaunter almost skeletal look.

_I doubt he counts me as friend anymore _Anders thought. It made him sad, but in truth it was what he expected. He'd abandoned his old life, and his friends, the day he destroyed the Kirkwall chantry.

"And you look like a dwarf" Anders muttered back.

Varric raised an eyebrow at that, it seemed there was still a sense of humor in there after all.

_Was he the one who left that pin in my food? _Anders thought.

"Tell me something, is the food always this bad? Those mashed potatoes were pretty stale" Anders said.

Varric frowned at him saying "I wouldn't know; I don't eat the dungeon food Blondie."

"Be glad then, even the food in Darktown was better" Anders said slowly.

_It wasn't him... he didn't try to help me._

"I heard Sunshine gave you quite the beating. Thanks to you, all of Skyhold knows not to piss her off" Varric said looking over the bruises.

"You heard about that did you? Is that what am I now? Gossip for Skyhold?" Anders said more to himself than to Varric.

"Pretty much" Varric said.

Anders scowled.

"You shouldn't have let yourself get caught Blondie. A lot of people are pissed at you" Varric said.

"Are you one of them?" Anders asked pointedly.

Varric grew silent.

They stared at each other for a long time, neither of them saying a word.

Anders sighed and leaned back to rest his against the stone walls of his cells.

He didn't think 'pissed' was the right word for whatever Varric felt for him now. He knew it must not have been good... but the dwarf was still the only somewhat friendly face he'd seen in a long time.

"I can't believe how strong Bethany's become. I'll bet Hawke's proud, I never thought she'd be able to beat me. Guess time changes us all" Anders said managing another weak smile.

From what Anders could gather, Bethany hadn't liked her magic growing up, but her brother Garrett had encouraged her to explore her powers as she got older. That was something Anders thought very few non-mages would do.

"... you really don't know?" Varric said speaking up at last.

"Know what? I've been on the run or else hiding in caves for the last four years" Anders said.

Varric shifted uncomfortably but Anders prattled on.

"The blighted templars finally caught me and next thing I know; I'm brought to Skyhold. Whatever this Inquisition is... it's powerful. I've seen mages and templars wondering about. What's up with that? The old system must have finally fallen, but I don't know how" Anders said.

He was glad to see somethings had changed, even if he himself had little to do with that change. No, he'd only been the spark and for better or worse others had gone and set things right. Or at least, _their _version of right.

Only Varric wasn't listening anymore.

The dwarf leaned against the bars of Anders's cell, his head held low as if deep in somber thought.

"What's wrong?" Anders asked.

"Blondie, it's about Garrett" Varric said avoiding Anders's gaze and staring at his boots.

"What about Hawke? Was he in the middle of all this somehow? Ha! I don't doubt that, the way he was always looking out for Bethany. Please tell me he sided with the mages I-" Anders began only to stop as Varric slammed a fist on the cell bars.

Anders grew quiet.

"Blondie... Hawke's gone" Varric said speaking in barely a whisper.

There was suddenly a heavy lump in Anders's throat.

"I... no that can't be. Garrett was... Hawke is one of the strongest peo-" he began.

"He sacrificed himself for us" Varric said suddenly.

The dwarf stepped back from the cell bars and slid down, sitting with his back against the wall just outside Anders's cell.

"So much has happened out there, you wouldn't believe. But Hawke? Hawke was a hero. He saved my life, the Inquisitor's, her squad's, the Grey Warden's, and the Inquisition forces" Varric said, he sounded more somber than Anders had ever heard him speak before.

_Hawke... gone. Gone? He was a good man. A better friend that I deserved, though at the end we weren't really friends were we? _Anders thought.

"Tell me" Anders said in barely a whisper.

The templars stationed outside his cell exchanged glances but said nothing to the dwarf seated outside Anders's cell.

And so Varric told him.

Told him of the hole in the sky. Of the return of Corypheus and the Divine's death, of the red templars, of the corrupted Grey Wardens, of the mages joining the Inquisition and the templars reforming into something new, of the battle at Adamant and of Hawke's sacrifice.

"Corypheus is finally dead this time. The Inquisitor saw to that one" Varric said finishing his tale.

Anders was still reeling from what he'd learned. Everything had changed. The old world was gone, and in its place the Inquisition had birthed a new one... for better or worse.

"Hawke" Anders whispered as his hands clenched into fists.

"Why did he do it? Why did he have to get involved?! Damn it Garrett! Always had to be the hero! Why?!" Anders said getting to his feet and wincing in pain.

The templars outside his cell shifted, hands on their blades, at Anders's outburst.

"... he did it because of Bethany" Varric said and Anders froze, his face falling.

"I-" he began

"You remember how Hawke was. Bethany was the only family he had left, and he couldn't stand by with the templars and the mages fighting it out. Then I asked him for help because he'd killed Corypheus once before" Varric said shaking his head.

Anders stared at his feet and sunk back into his sitting position by the wall of his cell.

"That's why Bethany was angry with me. She's all alone now, and she blames me" Anders said thinking aloud.

"Aye, when she heard you'd been captured... I'd never seen her face grow so cold" Varric said.

"It wasn't my fault" Anders said suddenly.

Varric looked up at him as if he didn't know who he was anymore.

"I... I didn't corrupt the Wardens. I would have never harmed Hawke. Tell her for me, will you? Tell her it wasn't my fault. Bethany was so cold... I don't like seeing her that way" Anders said nearly pleading.

He reached forward grabbing onto the bars of his cell.

"Varric please. Tell her I'm sorry about her brother" he pleaded.

One of the templars stationed outside shook his head and violently slammed a fist against the cell bars.

_Clang._

"I've had enough of this bullshit" the templar said coldly.

Anders glared at the man.

"You say it wasn't your fault, it was! Everything was your fault! You started a bleeding war! You weakened all of Thedas for Corypheus's taking!" the templar shouted at him.

Varric got to his feet and Anders stepped back from the bars of his cell.

"What I did, I did for the good of my people. For the mages suffering under the Templars' rule" Anders said darkly.

The templar scoffed at him before turning to Varric.

"Are you done? He's a prisoner, not your drinking buddy" the templar said coldly while his partner watched on fuming.

"I think that's my cue to leave" Varric said giving Anders one last look, before turning to leave.

Anders watched the dwarf leaving, but he called out to him one last time.

"Why did you came down here?" he called out.

Varric froze mid-step.

"I wanted to see if my old friend was still in there" Varric said turning back to face him.

"And?" Anders asked.

Varric gave him a hard look.

"Shit Blondie. I don't know" Varric muttered shaking his head.

The dwarf turned leaving the stunned Anders alone in his own dark thoughts.

Whatever friendship they once had seemed to have passed in that one moment, Anders thought.

He only hoped he was wrong as he curled back into a ball on the floor of his cell.

* * *

The Inquisitor was pleasantly surprised when her spy master Leliana sent word to meet with her.

Lyanna was glad, though given her spy master's reputation not at all surprised, when her agents had found the man who'd tried to help Anders escape.

It had been another mage, a former apostate on the run who'd later joined the Inquisition when Lyanna had pardoned Fiona and the others.

He was young, younger than Lyanna would have thought, twenty-two at most and with barely the shadow of a beard growing.

"It was him. He slipped a pin into Anders's food, apparently his magic has never been very powerful, and he worked as a cook to make ends meet" Leliana was saying.

The two of them stood just outside the kitchens, with four Inquisition guards, the young mage in question, and Cullen glaring at the kitchen boy.

The Inquisition's spy master held up her hand revealing something between her fingers.

It was a single pin.

"Found on Anders's body when he was recaptured?" Lyanna asked her spy master.

Leliana nodded.

"It appears you were right Lady Leliana. The templars did miss something on Anders's body" Cullen said.

"Anders is a good man. He brought the Circles down, he helped bring the mages their freedom. Inquisitor you have to agre-" the young man began.

"No. Anders is a murder. He's not a revolutionary and you shouldn't have helped him." the Inquisitor said sternly.

"But" the young mage stammered.

_He's so young... why would anyone think Anders was worth the risk to save? How badly must this boy have hated the templars for him to see that man as a hero _Lyanna thought darkly.

"What do we do with him?" Cullen asked glaring down at the terrified mage.

"Put him in a cell. But keep him far away from Anders, I don't want that man meeting a fan. I'll figure out what to do with him later" Lyanna said and Cullen nodded.

The young mage fought Cullen and the Inquisition guards, but they hauled him away even as the other kitchen staff watched.

"I'll have one of my agents search his food before it's delivered from now. Just in case another of his 'fans' try to slip him something else" Leliana said as she and Lyanna left the kitchens.

"Good, I'd hate to have a repeat of the courtyard incident. That was enough of an embarrassment for the templars for one lifetime" Lyanna agreed.

"These are troubling days my lady. Anders still has mages that believe he was right, if we're lucky no more will try to help him" Leliana said as she and the Inquisitor walked through the courtyard.

Though the courtyard was lightly crowded with people, from servants to soldiers going about their business, the two women had no trouble walking. People seemed to clear a path for as they got close.

Giving two of the most powerful women in Thedas their space.

"And if we're unlucky" Lyanna asked.

"Then Josephine believes there will be mages who publicly show their support for him, and call for his release" Leliana said.

"Wonderful" Lyanna said as the two women reached the stairs that divided the Skyhold courtyard into the upper and lower levels.

"A wise young man aged before his time, once told me that life is not easy for those in power. That there's always problems, and that for that reason alone, only a fool would crave power" Leliana said.

_Young man huh? She never does mention 'him' much _the Lyanna thought.

Leliana smirked, seeming to hear the Inquisitor's thoughts.

"Are you calling me a fool" Lyanna asked smirking.

"Never my lady, you did not crave power yet you have it" Leliana said lightly.

"Says the next Divine. Looks like we're the same then. How long will you stay in Skyhold? I'm surprised the chantry has let you work as my spy master for this long?" Lyanna said.

"Not to worry. I'll be here for some time yet. There are still things to put in order before I leave. This business with Anders at the very least" Leliana said.

"I'm glad to hear that" Lyanna said truthfully.

The women turned their separate ways at the stairs, Leliana to her tower and the Inquisitor heading for the stables where Blackwall was no doubting waiting for her.

After today, Lyanna needed some time with her lover. She knew not everyone had forgiven the man who called himself 'Blackwall', but she had and that was all that mattered to her.

If Josephine was right, then she'd have enough trouble in the days to come, now she wanted to forget it if only for a few hours.

* * *

_Later_

It was night when the soldiers arrived in Skyhold.

An escort of some forty foreign men and women in white armor arriving at the gates on horseback.

The foreigners had wealth, their armor was of the highest quality money could buy, and their horses were very well bred indeed. Every soldier, man or woman, had a fine green traveling cloaked wrapped around them, as well as a bow sheathed on their horse saddle.

Word had been sent ahead of their coming, but they were not expected until the morning at least.

To arrive this early, they must have ridden day and night.

Their sudden arrival had not gone unnoticed, the crowds of people milling about the fortress, from Inquisition soldiers to merchants, had taken to watching the foreigners curiously.

A few tavern goers even stepped outside to get a better look.

Varric Tethras was among those tavern goers, and from the moment he saw the foreigners' armor he knew who it was. And he knew it meant trouble.

"Figures he'd show up. We keep running into old friends it seems" Bethany said appearing beside him.

"Aye, Sunshine. That it does" Varric said shaking his head.

Acting quickly, Josephine had gathered an honor guard to meet the foreigners as they rode into the courtyard.

"Welcome to Skyhold, my lord. You'll excuse us for not meeting you at the gates. We received word of your coming, but we had not expected you so soon" Josephine said in her well-polished speech reserved for nobility.

One foreigner dropped from the saddle of his horse, and strode to greet Josephine and their honor guard, many eyes on him as he did so.

The lone man may have worn the armor and traveling cloak of the soldiers, but he was clearly their leader.

He bowed before Josephine then returned to his feet and lowered the hood of his traveling cloak, a polite greeting worth of nobility.

"Greetings. I am Sebastian Vael, the Prince of Starkhaven, and I have come for the war criminal known as Anders" the man said.

* * *

**Sebastian has arrived at Skyhold, I look forward to writing the Prince as a changed man.  
I had fun writing the chapter even if it was more character based than plot based.  
Cole is seriously hard to write, but I enjoyed his little cameo.  
I like writing Anders's interactions with previous companions and I think they'll be a few more scenes like the one with him and Varric, though I think I'll make them shorter next time.**

**Thanks for Reading and please Review.**


	4. How Times Have Changed

**Hey guys, back again.  
Sorry for wait but was busy with school**

* * *

**How times have changed**

_**9:37 Dragon Age  
**__**The destruction of the Kirkwall chantry**_

"_This is getting us nowhere. Grand Cleric Elthina will put a stop to this"_

_First Enchanter Orsino strode from the Knight Commander's grasp heading for the chantry._

"_You will not bring her grace into this!" Meredith said grabbing Orsino by the wrist._

"_The Grand Cleric can not help you" Anders said._

_The former Warden emerged onto the street with the arguing templars, circle mages, and the Champion of Kirkwall himself along with his companions._

"_Anders you shouldn't be here" Garrett said turning as Anders emerged onto the scene before the chantry._

_Varric shifted uncomfortably at sight of him and Sebastian only frowned, but Anders ignored them._

_'Hawke, your influence and status have protected me from the templars for years now. I thank you for that... but I can no longer stand by and do nothing' Anders thought._

_He gave his friend a sad look, but he knew what he must do._

"_Explain yourself mage" Meredith hissed at him coldly._

_The Knight Commander had known for a long time what Anders was. How she had hated seeing him walk freely with the Champion's protection._

"_I will not stand by and watch you treat all mages like criminals" Anders said staring unwavering into the Knight Commander's eyes._

_How many mages could claim the same?_

_He turned to Orsino saying "while those who would lead us bow to their templar jailers."_

"_How dare you say-" Orisno began._

"_**The circle has failed us. Even you should be able to see that**" Anders said in a voice that was not his own._

_The blue flames began to kindle about his body, and a collected gasp echoed across the gathered men and women._

"_Abomination" one templar said, then another and another._

_The circle mages flinched at the sight of him, many taking a step back._

"_Anders!" Garrett called out in fear and concern._

_Meredith glared._

"_**The time **has come to act. There can be **no half measures**" Anders said, his voice alternating as he spoke. _

_One moment he was Anders, and the next he was Justice._

_Garrett Hawke grabbed him by the shoulder and spoke._

"_Anders... what you have done?"_

"_**There **can be **no **turning back" Anders said shrugging off his friend's hand._

_With a wave of his hand, Anders triggered his bomb._

_The air around them seemed to still, as the gathered templars and mages, saw the explosion before they heard it._

_Meredith and Orsino watched wide eyed at the brilliant flash of light... followed by the muffled screams as the chantry crumpled into ashes before them._

_There was no fire, no crumbling wreckage, only ash that settled into dust littering the ground where once stood a building full of men, women, and children._

"_**There can be no peace**" Anders said, his voice his own this time._

"_Maker have mercy" Meredith said in barely a whisper. Her templars watched, unable to process what Anders had just done. _

_None of them had ever seen magic used on such a scale before._

"_Elthina! No! Maker no! She was your most faithful, your most beloved..." Sebastian Vael wailed._

_The prince of Starkhaven sank to his knees. He ran a hand through the scattered dust that once been a building filled with chantry priest and the grand cleric herself._

_Garrett only stared at Anders in disbelief._

_'Don't judge me Hawke. Even if your sister is a mage, you don't understand. You could never understand... always trying to see the best in people. Sometimes, there is no other way' Anders thought._

"_Blessed be the souls of the faithful that they ascend to your right hand" the prince of Starkhaven began praying._

_Orisno snapped to Anders, "Why?! Why would you do such a thing!"_

"_I removed the chance of comprise because there is no comprise" Anders said firmly._

"_You.. you fool!" You've doomed us all!" Orsino yelled, barely able to contain his fury._

_'The templars are gearing for war, it's starting' Anders thought at the sight of Meredith snapping orders to her men. _

_Four templars saluted their commander and fled the scene to notify their rest of the Order._

"_The grand cleric has been slain by magic. The chantry destroyed. As Knight Commander of Kirkwall, I hereby invoke the Right of Annulment. Every mage in the circle is to be executed. Immediately!" the Knight Commander shouted._

"_The circle didn't even do this! Champion, help us end this madness" Orsino said turning to Hawke._

"_And I demand you stand with the templars. Even YOU must see this outraged cannot be tolerated!" Meredith shouted turning to Hawke._

"_Why are we debating the Right of Annulment! The monster who did this is right here! He. Must. Die." Sebastian said getting to his feet._

_Garrett Hawke stood in-between the three leaders._

"_It can't be stopped now. Hawke, you have to choose" Anders said. He had already set everything in motion, if he died... then so be it._

_Garrett only stared at his old friend like he didn't know who he was anymore._

"_The Circle is an injustice. In many places beyond Kirkwall. The world needed to see" Anders said eerily calm._

"_Elthina was not the circle! She was a good woman who you murdered!" Sebastian shouted. _

_Bethany Hawke emerged from the crowd of circle mages._

_She moved to stand beside her brother and stared at Anders in shock._

"_All those people... the priest... the commoners. Their blood is on your hands" She said in barely a whisper._

"_I know" Anders said somberly._

"_Garrett Hawke, you are the Champion of Kirkwall. Fill full your duty to your people, and aid the templars" Meredith said glaring at him._

_Garrett only raised a hand, gently pushing his sister behind him, as the templars began unsheathing their weapons._

_Orsino and the mages made for their staffs._

"_I will not let you kill my sister" Garrett said staring at Meredith with cold eyes._

"_Then you stand against us" was all the Knight Commander told him._

"_Kill them all!" Meredith shouted turning back on them all, and leaving as her remaining men charged the mages, Anders,Varric, and Garrett and his sister._

_There was a clash of steel and magic as the two sides fought in what would be the first of several battles throughout the night._

_In the end, Hawke and the mages won. _

_Anders had stayed behind to help the circles mages, even as many glared his way._

_When it was over, with two dozen templars and six mages dead on the floor... Anders calmly sat on the steps of what once led to the chantry._

"_So it's come to war. I don't know if we can win... but thank you Champion. For standing with us. I must return to the gallows, meet me there as soon as you are able" Orsino said breaking the silence that came after battle._

_Glancing back at Anders, Orsino continued "I'll leave you to deal with him."_

_The First Enchanter turned to his surviving Circle mages, but was surprised when Bethany did not regroup with the others._

_Two pairs of matching blue eyes met Orsino's gaze, and he knew the siblings would not separate at a time like this. He nodded, there was no point in arguing anymore, and took his leave of them along with the surviving circle mages._

"_I know what you're going to say" Anders called out to Hawke and his companions._

_They stood watching over him. _

_Anders had thought this moment would be terrifying, standing before his friends and allies like this... but he was oddly calm. _

_Once something is done, there can be no undoing it, and Anders took some strange comfort in that._

"_Whatever you're going to do. Just do it and be done with it... Champion" Anders said._

"_He dies!" Sebastian shouted, interrupting whatever Garrett had been about to say._

_All eyes turned to the prince of Starkhaven as he raised his bow._

"_Sebastian-" Garrett began._

"_I will not let this Abomination run free. He dies, or I will return to Kirkwall with such an army on my return that there will be nothing left for these apostates to rule" the prince of Starkhaven said deadly serious._

"_You'd kill all the mages, would you?" Bethany said suddenly._

_Sebastian glared at her, his noble demeanor cracking for the first time in years._

"_Even me? Even the children in the circle?" Bethany said her eyes narrowing._

_The prince was silent at that._

"_Choirboy, the city's not just full of mages. There are people here too!" Varric said._

"_The prince was always just another of the chantry's lapdogs" Anders said getting to his feet even as Sebastian glared his way._

_Anders and Sebastian had never gotten along, only politely acknowledging each other for Hawke's sake._

_The prince of Starkhaven notched an arrow on his bow and aimed for Anders's heart._

"_Everyone needs to calm down" Garrett said._

_The Champion stood between Sebastian and Anders, neither could strike without hurting Hawke and so neither did._

"_I am calm. Hawke... make your choice. Allow me to leave, or end it" Anders said._

_Instead, Hawke punched him in the face._

"_Blighted idiot!" he shouted._

_Anders stumbled back barely managing to stay on his feet._

"_I protected you! All those years I keep the templars off your back. I helped fund your clinic... and for what? For this" Garrett said pointing at the ashes of the chantry._

"_I don't deny it. Make your choice" Anders said._

_Garrett glared at him._

"_I... go. Just go! I won't kill you, but you're on your own now. I don't ever want to see you again" Garrett said turning his back on him._

"_Thank you... old friend" Anders said somberly._

"_No!" Sebastian shouted._

_The prince of Starkhaven moved, notching an arrow on his bow and loosed..._

_Garrett made to raise his shield but he was too late._

_Sebastian's arrow went whizzing past Hawke and struck Anders... through his throat._

_Anders gasped as the arrow pierced his flesh, and blood came pouring down his shirt._

"_He dies! He murdered Elthina! There can be no forgiveness for-" Sebastian was shouting as he notched another arrow, only for Garrett tackle him back._

_Bethany had her hands over mouth as Anders slumped to his knees. Varric stumbled back, not believing the scene before his eyes._

"_Gah!" Anders moaned coughing up blood in violent hiccups._

_The Apostate felt the cold envelope his body as he slumped further down, his hands supporting him on the floor as he grew weaker and weaker._

_His vision was growing darker and the world seemed to haze as he blinked in shock at the sight of his own blood._

_Anders raised a hand to the arrow in his throat but it was too late... he felt the life slipping from him._

_Garrett was shouting something as Sebastian shoved his former alley aside._

_**Thunk.** Another arrow pierced his flesh, this time in his chest._

_The impact and the pain jolted Anders backward and he stumbled to the floor on his back._

"_Stop!" Garrett shouted kneeing Sebastian in the stomach._

_Anders put a hand to his chest feeling the second arrow and the blood soaking his shirt._

_'Is this how it ends?' Anders thought staring into the night sky over Kirkwall._

_**NO!**_

_The roar came from inside his head in a voice that was not his own._

_The blue flames erupted from his body and Justice shrieked forcing Anders's body to its feet._

_Somewhere in the haze that was Anders's mind when he lost control, he could feel Justice casting the healing magic over his body. _

_Could feel Justice ripping the arrows from his flesh, breaking the arrowheads off the shaft before pulling them out with a shriek. Felt his body stumble to its knees even as Justice forced it to push forward, clinging to life and healing itself with magic._

_Justice roared and the flames surged around Anders's body as it stood._

"_**You!**" Justice shouted raising a fist towards Sebastian._

_Garrett shoved Sebastian back, stepping in the way... just as the flames burst from Justice's hand._

_Bethany leapt in front of her brother casting dispel, and the flames disappeared before their eyes seconds before it would have struck all three of them._

_Varric raised his crossbow at Justice but glanced back at the Hawke siblings and Sebastian, he wasn't sure what to do._

_Justice roared again gathering its magic._

_From behind the Hawke siblings, Sebastian notched another arrow and loosed._

_Only Justice's spirit armor had encased Anders's body and the arrow bounced off his chest harmlessly._

"_Stop! He'll kill you!" Garrett said elbowing the prince of Starkhaven in the face and sending the man to his knees._

_Bethany never took her eyes off Justice, always standing guard over her brother. Her staff raised as she stared terrified at what Anders had become._

_'No! Not them! Never them! Leave Garrett and Bethany alone!' Anders shouted from somewhere inside the body that was both his and not his._

_Justice roared turning and placing a hand to their throat._

_The Abomination fled into the night even as Sebastian loosed another arrow that bounced harmlessly off his back._

_'I could never hurt Hawke or his sister' Anders thought as tears stung his eyes as Justice carried them further and further away, keeping the two of them alive._

…

_That was the last time anyone saw Anders. He survived, but he had been weak for quite some time. _

_Justice had saved him, had kept him alive, but the scars that adorned his throat and torso never faded._

_They served as a constant reminder of what he had done, and of the prince of Starkhaven._

* * *

"I have come for Anders" the prince of Starkhaven said boldly.

The Inquisitor stared down at Sebastian from atop her throne.

"You don't make demands of the Inquisition. Our last interaction was not on good terms, you and your escort are allowed here as a curtsy to the Free Marches" Lyanna said.

"You refer to Kirkwall. Yes, I failed to annex the city" Sebastian said bowing his head low, before continuing "but that has no bearing on this matter, I was there when Anders murdered all those people. I saw him murder the grand cleric with my own eyes. The man is a monster and I swore to the Maker that I'd see justice served."

Lyanna fought the urge to roll her eyes.

The prince had originally tried to form an alliance with the Inquisition, but after speaking with Varric about what was happening in Kirkwall, Lyanna had decided against it.

She now understood what the dwarf meant when he said 'choirboy can be a bit overly dramatic when it comes to the Maker... and justice'.

"I do not deny what Anders is. But you are not the only one with grievances against him. What remains of the templars, the circle, and even the Grey Wardens argue the same as you" Lyanna said.

_You want Anders? Get in line _is what Lyanna had wanted to say, but her years of training under the etiquette of nobility, and Josephine, had taught her to speak posh.

The prince of Starkhaven paced calmly back and forth saying "then what, may I ask, are you plans for him?"

_May you ask? As if you'd really stop if I didn't tell you _Lyanna thought.

"Anders will be judged with all parties he has grieved acting as witness" Lyanna answered. That had been Josephine suggestion, letting those in power witness the judgment while remaining as neutral as possible.

_The Inquisition must not appear to give favor nor offend those in power who attend Anders's judging, but it would be a good idea to 'host' them as a sign of respect _Josephine has told her.

"I must be given that right" Sebastian said, his eyes growing cold at the thought that she'd deny him his grievances.

"You shall have it." Lyanna said.

Sebastian step forward and knelt respectfully before the Inquisitor's throne. Lyanna tilted her head at the prince, she had not expected that.

"I request to act as more than a witness. I request the right to stand before Anders and lay claim to my grievances, both personal and impersonal" Sebastian began, still on his knees before the throne.

When Lyanna did not speak, Sebastian continued, "Inquisitor... the grand cleric was a motherly figure to me when my parents sent me to the chantry. Anders murdered her in cold blood, I only wish to face him man to man as he is judged for his crimes."

"... I will consider it, prince. Skyhold is open to you, for now" Lyanna said slowly.

"Gratitude, Inquisitor" Sebastian said.

The prince of Starkhaven rose to his feet, bowed low, and took his leave.

Lyanna watched him go, seated atop her throne, and shook her head.

_Royalty _she thought with a sigh.

* * *

_The morning after_

"So, now we have choirboy back too. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Isabela would show up any second now" Varric said.

The dwarf turned his gaze to the entrance of the Skyhold tavern.

"No sign of her?" Bethany Hawke said managing a small smile, the first in quite some time.

"It was worth the try" Varric sighed.

"Quit stalling and deal" Iron Bull said glancing at his cards.

"Feeling nervous Bull?" Blackwall said grinning at his own cards.

"Never" the Iron Bull shot back smirking.

The four of them were playing a game of cards in the tavern, it had become something routine for Varric and Bethany, meeting for a drink or else a game, then Iron Bull and Blackwall had simply fallen into it with them.

"You shouldn't be so hasty" Varric called dealing his cards.

The other three looked at their cards.

Blackwall folded saying that he was out, while Iron Bull called "all in" pushing forth all his coins onto the table.

Varric only sighed at his losing hand. However, Bethany played her hand and the Iron Bull cursed saying "oh come on!"

Bethany had won again... for the fourth time this week.

"I beginning to suspect some underhanded scheming here" Blackwall said broodingly.

"Now, now, the game's fair. Don't hate the players" Varric said.

Bethany turned to Varric saying "I know what you're doing."

She shook her head at the dwarf saying "you keep letting me win. Garrett used to do the same thing."

"I don't know what you're talking about Sunshine" Varric said nonetheless avoiding her gaze.

Of the games they'd played, Bethany had won an overwhelming amount of times.

Bethany gathered all the coin Iron Bull had put forth on the table and pushed it back to him.

"Calm down, we don't play for coin" Varric said as Iron Bull gladly took his coin back.

"Well now, a woman after my own heart" Iron Bull said looking Bethany up and down, honestly how many women returned their winnings?

Bethany arched an eyebrow at him, more bemused than anything. He was not her type.

"I'll have to stop you right there Bull. I'm afraid Bianca is itching for a target with horns" Varric said coolly.

"I can take care of myself Varric" Bethany said chuckling at the dwarf.

"Right, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am" Iron Bull said, he'd heard the stories of what Bethany had done in the courtyard.

They began playing around round, but Blackwall spoke up suddenly.

"I hear the two of you knew the prince of Starkhaven?" he said.

"Aye" Varric said whilst Bethany only shook her head.

"We didn't part on good terms" the dwarf continued.

"Let's not talk about him anymore" Bethany muttered.

Varric glanced up seeing the look on her face, he knew what Sebastian had done to Kirkwall, and he didn't blame her for not wanting to talk about another friend who seemed to have changed into someone none of them knew anymore.

"What's the saying you humans have? Speak of the demon and he shall appear? Well, looks like your friend is here" Iron Bull said.

They looked towards the entrance to the tavern. And sure enough the prince of Starkhaven had stepped inside followed by two Starkhaven guards.

He was wearing a highly polished set of light armor, bow and quiver sheathed on his back, with a green traveling cloak wrapped around himself.

Without saying a word, he signaled to his men to stay behind as he spotted Varric and the others at their table.

"Bull, be a gentleman and stop me if I try to punch him in the face" Varric said as Sebastian approached.

Iron Bull nodded, the prince was a guest of the Inquisition. It wouldn't fair well if an incident occurred, Varric and Bethany understood that, even if they didn't like it.

"Choirboy" Varric said in awkward greeting, as the prince stood before them.

"Varric, how times have changed indeed. Joining the Inquisition? What mess have you gotten involved in now?" Sebastian said greeting his old friend with a warm smile.

Varric did not return the prince's smile.

"I wouldn't say joining, more like working with" Varric answered neutrally.

"Of course" Sebastian said before turning to Bethany and bowing his head in respect.

"Lady Bethany, I am so very sorry for your loss. I understand what's it like to lose the ones you love. I... I did not always agree with your brother. But Hawke was a good man, a good man who aided me when my family was slain. I held a service in Starkhaven for him when I heard the news" Sebastian said.

Bethany watched him curiously, but said nothing. She didn't like what Sebastian had become.

"Why are you here, choirboy?" Varric called as the prince shook hands greeting Blackwall and Iron Bull politely.

"I have come for Anders" he said simply.

_You and everyone else _Varric thought.

"And I hoped for your support" Sebastian continued to their surprise.

"Support in what?" Blackwall asked.

"The Inquisitor has granted me my say when Anders is judged. I will be allowed to speak my grievances directly to that monster for the entire court to see" Sebastian said, the warmth in his eyes fading.

Varric shifted uncomfortably.

"Varric, you hold power within the dwarven merchant's guild. And Bethany, you are respected by many in the circle. Join me, and we will speak our grievances together" Sebastian said.

"I have no grievances. You have a personal issue with Blondie, don't get me involved" Varric said his voice uncharacteristically dark.

_You invade our home, and now you ask for our support in your vendetta. Ancestors, what happened to the choirboy we used to know? _The dwarf thought.

"Surely, you can not forgive Anders for what he has done? Bethany, even you must see the error in what he did. This is a chance to have justice, not just for me, but for all of us" Sebastian said turning to both of them in turn.

"Our justice? Is that what trying to invade Kirkwall was?" Bethany said coldly.

Iron Bull put his drink down and Blackwall crossed his arms, this could get ugly.

"That was months ago. I have signed a peace treaty with Kirkwall. I admit, it was wrong of me to do so... but this is more important-" the prince began.

"Please leave" Bethany cut in.

Sebastian gave her a hard, but not unkind, look.

Blackwall rose from his seat, as too did Iron Bull, whom towered over the prince of Starkhaven.

"You heard the lady, choirboy" Varric said as Sebastian's guards emerged behind him, their hands on their bows.

Sebastian calmly signaled for his men to stand down.

"I see I am not welcome here. I do not blame you, I had hoped we could reconcile our differences, but that seems unlikely. I will leave you be" Sebastian said turning his back on them.

Blackwall and Iron Bull returned to their seats as the four of them watched the prince leaving.

"Royals" Varric muttered darkly.

* * *

_Days later  
__The Courtyard_

In the days that followed, more and more people began to arrive at Skyhold. More templars, some former Circle mages including First Enchanter Irving, whom had known Anders in his youth.

Other nobles from the Free Marches arrived as well, nobles whom had troublesome dealings with the rebel mages following Anders's actions in Kirkwall.

They blamed him for the trouble that had been caused, years of trade routes being disrupted by the fighting, where mages formed groups of raiders hunted by the templars.

Last to arrive, the Grey Warden envoys.

The ancient order had been thrown into disarray after everything that had happened, but even amid all the chaos they sent men and women for one of their deserters.

Skyhold was increasingly becoming more crowded as the days went by.

Sebastian Veal found himself having to occasionally fight through the crowd of people when meals were cooked as he used the event to meet with those that come for the same matter as he.

The prince was mildly annoyed pushing past a crowd of humans and elves on his way to speak with an envoy of the Wardens. He spotted Sir Cullen walking among the crowd on some business or other, and made sure to greet the man polity, he tried to be friendly with everyone he meant as he hoped for as many allies as he could.

Sir Cullen acknowledged him but said nothing, preferring to go about his business.

The prince found his way to the tents the servants had set up to serve the newcomers food, and headed for a Warden he spotted seated alone atop a bench.

Little did he know he was being watched from above.

Standing atop the balcony of the tower where she worked, Leliana watched the prince play his little game.

Gathering allies for his plans by finding common cause with those who arrived just as he had.

He truly was a noble now, not the chantry boy Varric had once known, he was good at it too. Meeting with potential allies with no guards, always with a smile, with respect, with shared concern for this new world they suddenly found themselves in.

Honestly, the prince of Starkhaven could have rivaled an orlesian in politics it seemed.

Leliana knew what he was doing, taking advantage of a minor misstep on the Inquisitor's part during their initial meeting.

Her agents in Skyhold had confirmed her suspicions and she knew Sebastian's plan wouldn't have worked if it was only the prince by himself, but together with the other envoys and nobles it would.

She crossed her arms watching the prince chat with a Warden as if he too were a common man.

Things were not going well for the Inquisition, Leliana and her agents noted.

Although many parties had come to Skyhold to lay their grievances against Anders, including former circle mages, there was a small group of radicals who thought Anders should be saved.

Her agents had stopped more than one more attempt to free or else help Anders again. Luckily, none of these mages were professionals.

Mostly young, in fact almost always young, mages who didn't think of what Anders would do even if he somehow got away from Skyhold.

Her agents had caught six or so of them, and now they weren't trying anything anymore.

But that wasn't the worst part.

A group of mages had sprung up over night it seemed, a small but vocal group of mages asking for an audience with Inquisitor.

They wanted Anders released or given a reduced sentence, trying to keep him from being executed which was the most likely punishment he'd get.

The Inquisitor had wisely refused to meet with them, but under Josephine's advice, did not punish them for speaking their minds. This of course, had caused squabbles with the templars and many of the Inquisition's forces.

Cassandra and Cullen had their work cut for them keeping the mages and the templars from breaking into fights again.

Sebastian and his Starkhaven soldiers often glared at those mages, the radicals who wanted Anders freed or else granted his life at least.

"Anders helped our people!"

and

"He killed but so did the templars!" they shouted.

Leliana was growing sick of it. In war, there are acts of cruelty from both sides.

But it would come to an end soon. Only two days until the Inquisitor officially judged Anders, although if Sebastian has his way then it would be a long overdrawn affair.

_The sooner this is over the better _Leliana thought.

However something caught the Inquisition's Spy Master(and future Divine's) attention, the feeling that she was being watched.

She tilted her head spotting a lone figure looking up at her tower from down below in the courtyard.

A new arrival apparently.

He was an elf with a red traveling cloak draped over himself. Few if any took notice of him, and that was how he preferred things.

She gazed down at him as he looked up.

Her eyes met the curiously grey ones below.

Leliana smiled.

* * *

_Later that day  
The Inquisitor's personal quarters_

"And now I have a group of mages crying for Anders release" Lyanna muttered darkly.

The Inquisitor was seated atop her bed with Blackwall gently massaging her shoulders, she'd just spoken with Josephine and Leliana.

"They're young and foolish. Believing a man like Anders to be a hero... they don't see what the war did. All the suffering that started because of him" Blackwall said darkly.

"Not just Anders. The Lord Seeker too, the mages aren't the only ones who started the war. I try to remember that for the mages sake" Lyanna said.

"And what of Anders?" Blackwall asked curiously.

The Inquisitor always had an ability to see the good in people, she was even able to forgive Blackwall for what he'd done, but he didn't think what Anders did could ever be forgiven.

_I thought the same of me though. I killed people who didn't deserve it, but I never started a war. I never blew up a building filled with innocents _Blackwall thought.

There were days he still thought of himself as scum, though his lover disagreed, but he had tried to be better, to redeem himself.

Somehow he didn't think Anders could say the same.

"What he did is unforgivable. Whatever his intentions were... he went too far" Lyanna said.

_Too far. A lot of people went too far. Anders, the Wardens, the Lord Seeker, and even the Orlesians, The world fell upon itself and it took the Inquisition to put it back together _Blackwall thought.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his lover.

"And don't even get me started on the 'prince of Starkhaven'. That man is getting on my nerves" Lyanna said.

"What'd he do? Him and his men strut around Skyhold like they own it" Blackwall said shaking his head.

"Sebastian has been gathering allies and telling all the parties that arrived that he was given the right to face Anders, and speak his grievances for the entire court to see. Now _all _of the them will expect the same treatment... the templars, the Wardens, and the other nobles." Lyanna said.

"You could just say no to the whole lot of them" Blackwall said.

"That'd just offend them. I misspoke what I told the prince I would consider it, if it had been him alone he wouldn't have done something so foolish. But together with the 'allies' he gathered... he plans to make the judgment into a show for the entire court" Lyanna said shaking her head in frustration.

"I could give him a good punch in the face, eh love?" Blackwall japed.

Lyanna chuckled but shook her head saying "if only, Josephine tells me that would be 'politically unwise' and I trust her on these matters."

Blackwall nodded saying "we'd have been completely lost at the Winter Palace without her."

"I hear you ran into him in the tavern?" Lyanna asked.

"Aye, we were playing cards and he showed up. He was looking for Varric and Bethany." Blackwall said.

"And?" Lyanna asked.

"He wanted their support, they didn't take it too kindly. Neither did I, never liked nobles too much if I'm being honest" Blackwall said.

"I'm a noble" Lyanna said glancing back at her lover coyly.

"Most nobles, love" Blackwall corrected.

"Good" Lyanna said pulling her lover close, she didn't want to think about Sebastian and his games, the recent arrives to Skyhold, or the radical movement to free Anders anymore.

Two days until Anders was dealt with it, but for tonight she had her love.

* * *

_Two days Later_

Anders didn't know how long he'd been imprisoned.

Days or maybe weeks now, he had no real way of counting time anymore.

Anders tossed and turned amid his prison cell.

The templars still changed shifts every few hours just outside his cell. It wasn't like he could do much anyway, regardless they didn't trust him.

He used the changing guards as way to track time, but he still needed to sleep and so he missed a few here and there.

The waiting, that was what affected him the most.

Anders knew he was most likely dead... he doubted that would change.

What he would have given to see a friendly face.

But no, Varric had never come back to see him. Bethany had never even bothered to come at all, not that he blamed her.

And Hawke was gone... Anders wondered what his friend would have thought of him now.

_Would he have hated me? Called me a monster as so many others have? Would have forgiven me? It's too late to know now _he thought.

So many people in his life were gone now.

His parents, though to be honest he could barely remember them.

Karl, his old lover who had been made Tranquil. At least Anders had been able to put him out of his misery.

Agron, the Hero of Ferelden. The elf who had saved him from the templars, made him a Warden, and for a time had given him purpose in life.

The man who had been his friend and his teacher.

Even before the incident in Kirkwall, nobody seemed to know what had happened to Agron. He'd just disappeared.

So much had changed since Anders had gone into hiding. It was a different world out there, and one that Anders didn't know if he belonged in anymore.

It had been the Inquisition and its leader that changed things in the end, not him. They had let the mages join instead of serve, he had only been a spark.

_A spark. Heh, I wanted to be so much more _Anders thought.

That was another thing that unnerved him.

The feeling of being alone.

For years he'd grown so accustom to Justice's presence within him. Their relationship was hard to describe.

Even Anders didn't know where he ended and Justice began. Before, he could feel thoughts and feelings that were not his own, could always feel a sense of something inside him beyond his soul.

Something which had once been warm that had grown cold.

He'd known Justice had changed after the merging. He could feeling it happening over the years.

Now though, imprisoned in the templars' cage with his magic blocked from him... he felt nothing.

Justice wasn't gone, they were too fused together for him to disappear completely, Anders just had a hard time feeling him anymore.

At times, even here with the templar iron blocking his connection to the Fade, he could feel twinges of the spirit within, but they were far and few in between.

When the banging on his cell door came, it took him by surprise.

Anders looked up to see Cane, one of the templars who had captured him, glaring down at him as another templar unlocked his cell.

"It's time, got up Apostate" Cane said coldly.

Anders got to his feet shakily, his heavy iron chains rattling as he did so.

Somehow, even in the darkest of times, Anders found it within himself to smile at his captors.

He knew they hated it.

Anders was roughly grabbed by the templars as they dragged him out of his cell.

The way out of the dungeons was the easiest, the hardest was sunlight glaring down upon him as they escorted him outside.

Anders blinked back light tears and flinched, it had been days or weeks since he'd been outside. Days since he'd seen the sun, and the light burned his eyes.

Still the templars shoved him forward.

Anders blinked, hearing _them _before he saw them.

A crowd of angry people coming for him, mages and templars, foreign nobility, and what looked like a few Grey Wardens.

_Looks like I'm popular again _Anders thought still managing to keep the empty grin on his face, the one that the templars hated.

The templars closed ranks around him, they would protect him until he reached the throne room.

"Ready to judged?" Cane the templar asked coldly.

_Ready to be executed you mean? _Anders thought still grinning as the templars hauled him forward and the mob converged around him shouting.

* * *

**Cliffhanger I know, I apologize if it was ill placed.  
This chapter actually had to slit into two parts, so that's why the pacing my seem slightly off.**  
**I liked writing Sebastian as more of a noble now, willing to play the game to a minor extent to get what he wants, a show of his vengeance for the entire court to see.**  
**What did you think of the flashback? Different from canon, but I wanted Sebastian and Anders to have more of a history between them.**

Thanks for Reading and please Review!


	5. Grievance

**Hey guys, long wait I know. Was busy with school.  
This chapter is LONG. **  
**However, I feel everything has a purpose for Anders and his story, so stick with it, it'll pay off at the end**

* * *

The cries of the angry mop didn't surprise Anders.

In truth, some part of him knew he'd be vilified for what he'd done in Kirkwall. He'd only hoped that in some distant future other mages would look down at him more kindly.

What did surprise him were the contents of the mob's shouts and cries.

"Murderer!"

"Monster!"

"Abomination!"

"Child killer!"

"Apostate!"

"Deserter!"

Angry spit landed upon his face and torso, and Anders flinched back.

He managed to laugh even as the mob yelled their insults.

The templars were brings themselves tighter into formation around him. Yet even with the templars serving as escort, and the angry cries directed at him, Anders heard the one thing that stopped him in his tracks.

"**Free Anders!**"

That was what surprised him the most.

Even as the templars escorted him past the angry mob that had gathered around him, shouting and crying, mages shouted _for_ him.

Not all of them, but a small minority.

Mostly young, but a few elders.

Humans and elves, former Circle or else former Apostates, they pushed through the angry mob fighting to have their words heard.

"**Free Anders! He broke the templars' reign of terror! He began what the Inquisitor finished! He helped free us from the chantry!**" they shouted.

The templar known as Cane shoved him on the back, and Anders was forced forward again.

He still had his false smile planted firmly on his face.

It had started as his defense against the world around him. He'd done the same when he was a boy and the templars first came for him.

But this time, there was some small joy in that smile. The joy that some, however few, believed in what he had done.

Yes, he was a murder. But an old friend had once told him that _change never comes easy, and it never comes without cost._

He spotted Jennifer, the templar whom had captured him and the woman he'd put in the medical wing during his escape attempt. If he was being honest, Anders hadn't meant to fracture her rib cage, but he had trouble controlling his magic when Justice was aiding him.

Jennifer was gazing at him with narrowed eyes, whilst an Inquisition healer helped her walk.

She didn't saw anything to him, only gave him a cold hard look. The same one she'd given him the entire way to Skyhold.

Someone managed to throw a piece of garbage at him and Anders flinched as it struck his face.

Cane tugged on his chains, keeping the Apostate moving.

But Anders saw something... someone amid the sea that was the angry mob.

_A lone figure in a red traveling cloak._

Time seemed to slow to a halt as Anders spotted the figure amid the angry mob.

The lone figure was watching from the distance, seen but not seen, and only stared at Anders with a sad, almost regretful look.

The curiously grey eyes met his own, and Anders stared hardly believing his eyes.

"You" Anders whispered as time seemed frozen around him, the mob and the templars forgotten in that one moment that stretched on for an eternity.

The moment ended, and time continued to flow just as Cane and the other templars hauled him forward for the final time.

* * *

Anders barely noticed when the escort forced their way past the shouting mob and into the Skyhold throne room.

The heavy thud of the doors slamming shut brought him out of his thoughts.

Anders glanced behind him as the doors were locked behind him.

Now that the show was over, only the court would witness his judgment it seemed.

_The Inquisitor must have a flair for the dramatic _he thought.

Turning, Anders was stunned at sheer number of people attending the Inquisitor's court.

Several nobles from the Free Marches, merchants, representatives from the templar order, various mages including First Enchanter Irving of all people, and even _Grey Wardens._

_Oh great, and here I'd hoped the Wardens had forgotten about me. But of course, they'd hold a grudge. Not like you can really 'escape' the Wardens anyway _Anders thought.

Cane and the other templars began dragging him along for all the court to see.

The Inquisitor, or at least that's who he assumed was the noblewoman seated atop her throne was, awaited him.

All eyes were on him as he walked... but he halted once again at the sight of someone in the crowd.

Sebastian Veal grinning at the sight of him in chains.

Then it suddenly clicked.

_It wasn't the Inquisitor... it was Sebastian. He set up this enormous court just for me, probably wanted me to face the mob too. He did always have a flair for the dramatic. Pity the Inquisitor wasn't clever enough to stop him _Anders thought.

"Ah! If it isn't the royal bastard?! Happy now, Choirboy? Finally got to see me in chains?" Anders shouted loudly for the entire court to hear.

The court went silent at Anders's outburst, the nerve he had to yell so openly to a prince of the Free Marches.

The prince glared at him, the smirk slowly falling from his face.

"I would not be so pompous if I were you, Apostate. Justice will finally be had, and you will pay for your crimes" Sebastian countered.

Anders laughed in his face and the templars stood stunned at his manner, they'd never had a prisoner like him before.

Even the Inquisitor blinked curiously at her prisoner.

"Will you shut up already? As if you'd know anything about that. _I _know all about Justice remember? Who are you to lecture me? You invaded a city searching for me, when_ I had left long ago_" Anders said taunting the prince.

"Watch it, Apostate. Now is not the time to agonize me, you should be praying for forgiveness, perhaps the Maker can succeed where I cannot" Sebastian said keeping his cool.

But the damage had already been done. Already there were mummers traveling the court, muttering of the Invasion of Kirkwall.

"Silence" the Inquisitor called and the throne room grew quiet.

_She's a little thing. But she has the court's respect and runs one of the most powerful forces in Thedas _Anders thought as he was shoved forward.

Cane tugged on his chains roughly before leaving him at the steps to the Inquisitor's throne.

Anders looked down at the chains that bound him, that prevented him from using his magic, and then turned to meet the eyes of the Inquisitor.

They had never met before.

They only knew _of_ each other, but Anders reminded himself that this woman had freed his people from the templars and the chantry.

He had to be thankful for that.

Anders bowed his head respectfully to her.

"Apologizes, Inquisitor. I misspoke earlier" he said showing the courtesy that Agron had taught him during his time with the Wardens.

The Inquisitor blinked, she had not expected that.

"Anders. You are here today to face the consequences of your actions. As a courtesy to the parties that have journeyed to Skyhold, the Inquisition has decided to let them air their grievances against you before your judgment" the Inquisitor said somewhat coldly.

_The way she talks. She didn't want all these 'parties' speaking their grievance. Sebastian played her well, almost feel sorry for her _Anders thought.

"I understand" Anders said.

"First, representatives from the former Circle of Magi" the Inquisitor said, and Anders fought the urge to groan as First Enchanter Irving stepped forward.

Irving may have been old, but no one could accuse of him of not staying active. The trip must have been hard on him, yet he'd made the journey anyway. The man had been First Enchanter at the Ferelden Circle of Magi, and he'd known Anders ever since he was first brought in by the templars.

Irving glanced over to Anders in chains, and the apostate thought he could see a deep sadness in the old man's eye. Irving felt sympathy for him, even after all this time.

It left Anders stunned.

"I served as First Enchanter in the Ferelden Circle for many years. In that time, I saw mages learn and thrive within the Circle, and those who viewed it only as a prison" Irving began.

The court didn't seemed to be paying the old man any mind, almost all eyes were on Anders instead.

"Anders was a Circle mage. I remember when the templars brought him in, he but a child crying for his mother. I spoke with him personally and tried to make him see that it was still possible to live a life within the Circle. But six months after he arrived... Anders ran away for the first time" Irving continued.

"First time?" the Inquisitor interrupted.

Anders chuckled.

"Yes, my lady. The first time" Irving answered and murmurs filled the court once again.

"Over the course of many years. Anders made no less than seven escape attempts" Irving said.

"You forgot about the swim" Anders muttered and Irving glanced back at him.

The Inquisitor looked at Irving expectantly.

"Ah yes, there was the time he flung himself from the Circle tower to the lake below. He swam to shore and ran. The templars brought him back days later... he was sixteen years old" Irving said.

The Inquisitor looked at Anders with an astonished look.

Anders shrugged and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sebastian narrowing his eyes coldly.

This was not the show the prince had been expecting.

"And yet every time the templars brought him back, I only saw a child who wanted to see the world. At that time... he was was no abomination. He was merely a troublesome boy, and I believed him to be no threat." Irving said to the surprise of many.

"My only grievance was that I failed to act on his behalf. Time and time again, he became Apostate and fled the Circle. Yet I never took action" Irving finished looking as if he too had lived a hundred years.

Anders said nothing.

"I leave his fate for the Inquisition to decided" Irving finished to the astonishment of the court.

The only party that had no wish to take Anders for themselves.

Irving stepped back and took his place amid the court, he'd said his grievances and the Inquisitor accepted that.

* * *

Next, came representatives from the Templars.

The Order, while a shadow of it's former self, had chosen a deeply religious and well known member to represent them.

The man was tall, in his mid thirties yet with already greying hair, he nodded at the Inquisitor introducing himself as Sir Kaidan.

"Anders escaped the Circle eight times. Each time, the Order brought him back. Yet, the First Enchanter refused to make him Tranquil" the templar began.

Anders scowled, he knew Kaidan's type.

They were common among the templars. Men with a deep sense of religious fury for anyone born with magic. His kind rivaled Meredith and he would have seen far worse punishments for the lightest of crimes.

"He's caused the templars numerous amounts of coin in our attempts to bring him back. He's wounded and most likely killed several of our members over the years. He consorted with common criminals to evades us, yet we caught him every time" Sir Kaidan said.

_And yet how many innocent mages did you kill? Answer me that templar. How many children did you lock up in a blighted tower. Alone... in the dark for days on end _Anders thought darkly.

"He escaped our Order by fleeing to the Wardens for protection. Several members of the order" Sir Kaidan began as he glanced back at Anders coldly.

Anders met the templar's cold stare with one of his own.

"Myself included, believe that this Abomination used blood magic to coerce the Wardens into conscripting him. That would explain how he was able to hide among their ranks, and how they would have accepted a _piece of filth_ like him." Sir Kaidan spat.

_What in the Maker's name is he on about? _Anders thought, not believing his ears.

The Inquisitor turned to Anders saying "is this true?"

"No. I am NOT a blood mage" Anders said coldly.

He took a defiantly step towards Sir Kaidan and his chains rattled heavily, but he kept his distance.

"Of course that's what he would say. I've dealt with his kind before my lady, he is a liar and a criminal who sneaked his way into the Wardens-" Sir Kaidan began.

Anders scoffed saying "are you serious?"

Sir Kaidan glared back at him.

"Do you have any idea _who _recruited me? It was Agron, the Hero of Ferelden. You're claiming I could use blood magic to manipulate _him?" _Anders said, nearly shouting.

Silenced filled the throne room.

It appeared many had not known of his connection to the fabled Warden Commander and hero of the fifth blight.

Anders laughed coldly saying "I'd love to see what was left of any blood mage who tried to manipulate him."

"The elf was no templar" Sir Kaidan cut in.

"He didn't need to be. You templars like to think you're so special... you're not" Anders said coldly.

"Enough" the Inquisitor called and both templars and apostate kept quiet.

The Inquisitor was not enjoying this at all.

"Sir Kaidan. You are here to lay the grievances of the templar order against Anders. Not to make claims about his recruitment into the Wardens" she said from atop her throne.

The templar seemed to shrink before her cold eyes.

"Continue" the Inquisitor said.

"What more need be said of the Order's grievances? This is the man who murdered the Grand Cleric and a chantry full of priests. A man who started a war. How many have suffered because of his actions?" Sir Kaidan said turning to face the court.

The gathered nobles, and various representatives murmured their agreement.

Anders watched the templar met Sebastian's smirk and suddenly he knew, Sebastian had spoken with Kaidan earlier.

_Royal bastard _Anders thought.

"It is the templars whom dealt with rogue mages, apostates, and Abominations. Inquisitor, I beseech you to release this war criminal to what remains of our order. We will deal with him" Kaidan said.

"I will consider it, but I make no promises" the Inquisitor said gesturing for the templar to leave.

_The templars, always wanting to get me back. And to think, the one time it's not a woman _Anders thought.

Sir Kaidan stepped down and rejoined his follow templars in the court.

* * *

The Inquisitor turned to Anders as Josephine introduced the next party to speak their grievances... the Grey Warden envoys.

Anders groaned as the leader of the Warden envoys stepped before the Inquisitor's throne.

"Greetings Inquisitor, I am Warden Nathaniel Howe"

He did not look at Anders, only stared straight ahead at the Inquisitor.

Nathaniel wasn't dressed in the traditional Warden armor, but rather his own light armor that suited him well. He was a ranger and a rogue, not a warrior, and he took no care to dress in formal ware as the templars had done.

"You were at Kirkwall when the chantry was destroyed, were you not?" the Inquisitor asked.

"I was" Nathaniel answered.

Anders stared at Nathaniel sadly, yet the man would not look back. He would never look at his former ally.

"I understand that you knew Anders during his time with the Wardens. You served with him at Amaranthine under the Warden Commander" the Inquisitor said.

"Correct, I too was recruited by the Hero of Ferelden" Nathaniel said.

More murmurs from the crowd.

In truth, the Hero was not as well remembered in this day and age. His time had come and gone, other heroes and legends had come to take his place.

But those that remembered the tales of the first blights, of those that lived through the fifth, those that had remembered, knew of his legend and paid respect to his name.

In Ferelden, for the elves in the Denerim Alienage, his legend was particular popular.

"And, before this goes any further. I want to say that Sir Kaidan is wrong. Agron was of sound mind when he recruited Anders into Wardens. He may not have been a templar, but no blood mage could have controlled him" Nathaniel said.

The way he spoke, no ego or pride, but pure fact. Many a templar scoffed in indifference.

"You're claiming this Agron of legend had templar training then?" the Inquisitor asked her eyebrows raised, genuinely curious.

"... no" Nathaniel answer slowly.

The Warden was beginning to regret his outburst.

"Faith in one's commander is admirable. But misplaced, we have no way of knowing what Anders may or may not have done to secure the protection of the Wardens. The elf was no templar" Sir Kaidan said speaking up.

_You've never met him, idiot _Anders thought shaking head.

"How could the Warden Commander have resisted blood magic if he were not a mage nor a templar?" the Inquisitor asked.

She could resist such things, but she had had training from Cullen and Cassandra to achieve that resistance. It had not been easy.

"It's complicated" Anders and Nathaniel said.

They hadn't meant to speak as one, but they had.

All eyes turned to them. Yet still, Nathaniel would not meet Anders's gaze.

"It doesn't matter. Continue" the Inquisitor said.

"Anders was recruited shortly before I was conscripted myself. He served for some time, before an incident involving a former templar resulted in his desertion" Nathaniel said.

He clearly did not want to continue, but he would have to. Nathaniel had been chosen because he had known Anders, it was the only explanation.

"And what happened during this incident?" the Inquisitor asked.

Anders looked at the ground. He knew what was coming... he only hoped it would be over quickly.

"Anders murdered a fellow member of the Wardens" Nathaniel said.

There were collective gasps throughout the court.

"The man, Rolan his name was, was a former templar. Our reports say that he antagonized and possibly stalked Anders repeatedly. He believed Anders to be an Abomination and confronted him, a fight broke out and Rolan was killed. Anders fled shortly after... the Wardens were unable to retrieve him" Nathaniel answered.

He too, kept his eyes at the floor.

And so there it was, in the court's eyes, Anders's first murder.

"And is he?" the Inquisitor asked leaning forward.

"Is he what?" Nathaniel asked knowing exactly what she meant.

"An Abomination" the Inquisitor said.

"I... don't know" Nathaniel said slowly.

The Inquisitor turned to Anders saying "we have reports of your incident in the courtyard. How the blue flames erupted from your body and your voice was no longer your own. So now I ask again, are you an Abomination?"

Anders met her gaze saying "I'm not an Abomination."

"He lies! We've all heard the rumors about him. He's been possessed by a demon" Sir Kaidan said speaking up again.

The court shifted visibly, whispering about the incident.

"Justice is not a demon" Anders countered.

"But you do not deny that you are... merged" the Inquisitor asked, the room growing silent at her words.

Anders looked down at the palm of his hand.

Even now, with the templars' iron chains blocking his magic from him, he could feel twinges of Justice inside of him.

Like little tugs from an old friend, even now, Anders knew he was not alone. At times, he felt his constant companion as his friend and ally he'd known in Amaranthine. But other times, times when he lost control, he felt the cold thing that his friend had become. Today, it was the former.

"Not even the greatest scholar could say where I end, and Justice begins" Anders answered.

"He admits it" Sir Kaidan said coldly for the court to hear.

"Silence. Sir Kaidan, if you speak out again I'll have you thrown out" the Inquisitor said.

Kaidan blinked in surprise, but kept his mouth shut.

The Inquisitor turned her gaze back to Anders.

"You say you are not an Abomination. But you do not deny that have merged yourself with a spirit of Justice" she asked him.

Anders gritted his teeth saying "I don't deny it."

_Go on... say it. Call me an Abomination. Just like everyone else _Anders thought.

Instead, the Inquisitor nodded at him before turning back to Nathaniel saying "continue."

Nathaniel sighed saying "there isn't much more to tell."

_From what I hear, a lot has happened to the Wardens. Maker, the world's changed so much during my self imposed exile _Anders thought.

"The Wardens looked for Anders, but he crossed the Waking Sea and the trail went cold. It was only years later when he destroyed the Kirkwall chantry, that we discovered where he'd been all those years. Then with everything that happened with Corypheus..." Nathaniel stopped.

The Warden seemed to be mulling something over.

Anders watched curiously as the Inquisitor shifted in her throne.

Nathaniel knelt before the Inquisitor's throne.

"Inquisitor, the Grey Warden's actions have already stained our Order. We were used, and now the deserter who kindled the Mage-Templar war has been captured. I ask that Anders be given to the Wardens, we will punish him and have him repay his debt to Thedas for as long as he lives" Nathaniel said.

The Inquisitor leaned forward from atop her throne.

Of all the things she'd heard, she had never expected that. The Wardens didn't want to kill Anders, they wanted him to re-conscript him.

Anders stared at Nathaniel remembering their time together in Amarathine under Warden Commander Tabris.

"No! We cannot allow this scum to be forgiven. There is no redemption for him, no repaying a debt to society. Somethings are too much, things where there can be no going back" Sir Kaidan shouted.

"Out of my throne room" The Inquisitor said coldly.

The templar narrowed his eyes at her, but with a wave of her hand the Inquisitor sent her guards forth.

"My lady-" Sebastian began.

"He was warned" the Inquisitor shot back.

Kaidan glowered as the Inquisition guards grabbed him and escorted him outside, the doors slamming shut behind them.

"If the templars speak again, they will choose another representative" the Inquisitor said for all the court to hear.

_Well, she's not one to piss off _Anders thought.

The court stood on uneasy terms templars's outburst would not be forgotten, and this show that Sebastian had orchestrated had not gone as planned.

"Warden Howe, continue" the Inquisitor called after things had settled down.

Nathaniel finally, _finally, _turned to glance at Anders.

Seeing just how far he had fallen, the gaunt, thin, almost skeletal frame, the greying hair and beard, and the scar on his throat.

_I'm not the man I used to be. And he's seen that now _Anders thought as he met his old comrade's gaze.

The moment passed and Nathaniel turned back to the inquisitor saying "I've nothing more to say, my lady. I've made my request, I but ask that you consider it."

With a nod from the Inquisitor, Nathaniel stepped back and returned to the other Wardens.

* * *

"Sebastian Veal, Prince of Starkhaven. Your time is here, speak your grievances" the Inquisitor said.

Anders stirred, he knew this would not end well.

The Prince strode forward, taking his place before the entire court of Skyhold.

Sebastian let all eyes wander to him before he spoke, standing tall and proud, he had waited years for this moment.

"Gratitude, my lady" the Prince said kneeling momentarily before the Inquisitor's throne in a show of respect.

_Choir boy... give it your best shot _Anders thought darkly.

Sebastian turned to the gathered court, speaking loudly and with such religious fever that he could be mistaken for a priest rather than a prince.

"This man, Anders, is not only an Abomination. He is a criminal, an apostate, a deserter, and a mass murderer. He openly defied the Circle and it's rules, he abandoned his duty as a Warden, he smuggled lyrium and other apostates into Kirkwall ,and openly flaunted his freedom for years."

Anders said nothing, there were no lies in the prince's words.

"Yet his own freedom was not enough. He claimed a desire to see all mages free? Freedom is a noble goal, a Maker given right, but when has murder ever gone hand in hand with freedom? What 'freedom' did the mages receive when Anders murdered a chantry full of innocents, as well as the Grand Cleric herself?" the prince spat.

_I got my people to act. Act for this first time in centuries. I knew I was getting hands dirty, but someone needed to break the cycle... even if it was the Inquisitor and not me _Anders thought.

How Anders wanted to speak out. To shout and yell, to scream of the injustices his people faced, of the cruelty of the templars.

But no, he knew that was what Sebastian wanted and so he would not give him the satisfaction.

Anders took it, all of it, took the blows to his actions in silence, even as Sebastian preached of his sins.

"Whatever hope for peaceful change was lost the day Elthina was murdered" Sebastian was saying as Anders let his attention drift.

_Peaceful change? Don't make me laugh, Elthina did nothing. NOTHING! But sit and preach, never once lifting a finger to stop Meredith and her templars _Anders thought, biting his tongue to stop himself from shouting.

"I was there when it happened. I saw Anders for the Abomination that he always was, he slaughtered a dozen templars, and made an attempt on the Champion of Kirkwall himself." Sebastian said suddenly.

Anders snapped to attention.

Hawke was still a legend to many in the Inquisition, the man whom had saved the Inquisitor herself and battled the Nightmare alone in the Fade. Staying behind for their sake, a hero through and through.

The Inquisitor leaned forward, she had not been expecting that.

"That's a lie. I would never have harmed Hawke" Anders said suddenly. _No matter my actions, I will not have that bastard claim I meant to kill Hawke _he thought furiously.

"It is Anders who lies, Inquisitor. I was there, I saw him cast his flame magic at Hawke" Sebastian said.

The Inquisitor turned to Anders saying "do you deny that?"

Anders gritted his teeth.

"No, but I was aiming" Anders said darkly, as he turned and pointed a finger at Sebastian, before continuing "for _him._"

Almost instantly, Anders realized he had made a mistake.

"He tried to assassinate a prince too?!" a noble shouted amdist the Inquisition court.

Anders glared, raising a hand up to his collar and yanking it down... revealing the scar on his throat.

"The royal bastard shot me. Twice. One through the throat and another in my chest" Anders said showing the scars for all to see.

"As any devout man would. The Grand Cleric had been murdered moments ago and I sought to bring the Maker's justice to her murderer" Sebastian said.

There were murmurs of agreement from the court and Anders knew enough of politics that Sebastian had won them over, all part of his plan.

"Enough. Sebastian, if you have further grievance then continue or else step down" the Inquisitor said coldly.

Anders scowled as Sebastian nodded, he'd known the prince long enough to tell when he was satisfied with himself.

"Gratitude, Inquisitor. However, I ask for permission to correct a number of previous statements" Sebastian said suddenly.

The Inquisitor looked him over warily. "What corrections could you possibly make?" she asked.

Sebastian smiled humbly saying "a number of facts that the previous representatives got wrong."

_You bloody bastard _Anders thought his hands clenching into fists.

"Proceed" the Inquisitor called after sharing a glance with her adviser Josephine.

"Inquisitor" Anders called suddenly and his voice silenced the room.

Anders took a step forward, his chains rattling loudly as he so, and looked pleadingly at the woman atop her throne.

"He knows what I have to say, and that frightens him" Sebastian said, and that's when Anders knew he'd made another mistake.

Anders bowed his head. Nathaniel did the same.

The Inquisitor nodded at the prince to continue, there was no going back after the court had seen Anders's reaction.

Sebastian turned and as he did so, the eyes of the court turned with him, to face... the Grey Warden envoys.

"Warden Howe lied. He claims that the Wardens never found Anders until he destroyed the Kirkwall chantry. I claim otherwise. I claim that Nathaniel himself, and by extension the entire Order, knew of Anders's whereabouts in Kirkwall. They knew, yet did nothing" Sebastian said.

Deadly silence filled the throne room, no previous outburst had brought such an effect throughout the court.

Nathaniel and other Wardens stood still as statues, not daring to breathe.

The Inquisitor got to her feet.

"Warden Howe" she called her voice icily cold.

Anders cursed as Nathaniel stepped forward once again, and took to the stage across from Sebastian.

Before Nathaniel could speak, Sebastian cut in.

"Years ago, when the Grey Wardens were patrolling the deep roads near Kirkwall, Garrett Hawke was asked to intervene and rescue a lost squad. Anders was an ally of the Champion's, and so he joined in the attempt. That is where Warden Howe crossed paths with Anders, a deserter to their order, and yet he was never taken back" the prince said.

Angry murmurs began to fill the court.

The Wardens scorned by the entirety of the Inquisition court.

"There are reports in Kirkwall of this event. I believe the Wardens also have such records. The Champion used Anders's ability to sense Darkspawn to find the lost Warden squad, however such records conveniently leave Anders's role out. A conspiracy to shelter an apostate and a deserter" Sebastian continued.

The Inquisitor stared down at Nathaniel and spoke.

"Warden Howe, is this true?"

Nathaniel shifted uneasily. "My lady, it is a complicated tal-" he began.

"No excuses. Did you know of Anders's whereabouts or not?" the Inquisitor asked.

Anders shook visibly as Nathaniel did his duty, taking full responsibly, as he stood before the Inquisitor and the court.

"I knew of his whereabouts... before the destruction of the Kirkwall chantry" Nathaniel admitted somberly.

The Inquisitor glared down at him.

"My lady, almost no Wardens knew where Anders was. It was me, only me. I was the only survivor Hawke and his allies found" Nathaniel said stepping forward quickly.

_A lie, Stroud knew I was in Kirkwall too _Anders thought but said nothing.

"Warden Howe, you admit to knowing of Anders's whereabouts but not reporting them? You let a deserter and apostate run free? I will see that Commander Stroud is made aware of this" the Inquisitor said.

_Sebastian doesn't know that Stroud knew of me too. We met on the Deep Roads Expedition and he wasn't with us then... the Wardens will make a show of punishing Nathaniel. I can only hope that Stroud goes easier on him in private _Anders thought.

"There is more to the Grey Warden's sins, my lady" Sebastian said suddenly.

"Please! For the love of the Maker! Stop this." Anders pleaded.

The Inquisitor and the prince of Starkhaven paid him no mind, Anders's words falling upon deft ears.

The prince stepped forward and calling out to the entire court as he spoke again.

"Inquisitor, no doubt you know of Hawke's involvement at the Warden prison. But, what you do not know is that Wardens are responsible. It was the Grey Wardens themselves who released Corypheus into the world.

The Wardens of old had sealed him away in a prison, it was the Wardens in our time that thought to use him as a weapon.

Two factions within the Wardens, one to keep him sealed, and the other to free him in the hopes of binding him to their will. That is the story that has not been told, the fully story, the whole truth that has been covered up.

It was Hawke and his allies that intervened, I was among the group that Hawke brought with him into the Warden prison.

The Champion battled the awakened Corypheus and defeated him. We thought the matter dealt with, Hawke had beheaded the foul thing. But as we now know, Corypheus had a way to cheat death. And so it is the Warden's foolishness that unleashed the would-be-god onto the world. We paid the price for their incompetence" the Prince of Starkhaven said.

Nathaniel stepped forward once again.

"My lady, we didn't know this ourselves until much later. We were deceived, but when the time came we lent what power we had left to the Inquisition. This court was assembled to speak on Anders's case, not to cast blame on who started what" Nathaniel said.

Sebastian stood completely neutral on the matter, but Anders knew that inside the prince was reveling in this.

The Inquisition took her seat atop her throne, seeming to consider Sebastian's and Nathaniel's words.

The entire court seemed to hold it's breathe.

"Warden Howe, we will speak of this later. Return to your men, this case is for Anders, not the actions of your order" the Inquisitor said.

With a solemn bow, Nathaniel returned to his place among his fellow Wardens. The Wardens found themselves alone amid a sea of judgmental eyes, the damage to their reputation had suffered yet another blow.

Anders couldn't take this anymore.

"You want to cast blame? What about you 'mr. devout and righteous' huh?" Anders called to the surprise of everyone except Sebastian.

The prince didn't even look at him after his outburst.

"For years, you knew I was in Kirkwall. Hell, you knew of the existence of _three _apostates and yet you never bothered to tell the templars either. Don't pretend to be so innocent! So just! If you want to cast blame, then you're just as guilty!" Anders shouted.

The prince slowly, ever so slowly, turned to face him before he spoke.

Anders froze. Somehow, he knew he'd just made another mistake.

"Yes, I am guilty. Guilty of never seeing what was in front of me. I counted Hawke as one of my closest friends. Yet I was not aware that his sister was an apostate until she was brought into the Circle" Sebastian said to the awe of the court.

But the prince wasn't done.

Sebastian turned to the inquisitor, a deeply sorrowful look upon his face, as he continued "but for years I never acted on my information.

The Inquisitor watched the prince curiously.

"Hawke was as a brother to me, even in poverty he carried a sense of nobility about him. He was a good man... but even good men make mistakes. Hawke's mistake was putting his trust in people who did not deserve it.

For years, Hawke protected his friends and allies. Anders and a Dalish apostate, Merrill, were safe under his protection as Champion of Kirkwall.

I knew what they were, I even broached the subject with Hawke once, but he would not have it. They were his allies, and a second family that he had found in his tragic life. He could not be swayed to lift his protection from them. To my shame, I failed to convince Hawke of what needed to be done" the prince said.

Anders stirred, watching as Sebastian played the court, getting all their attention, and even... their sympathy.

Suddenly, Sebastian whirled back to face Anders with Maker given purpose.

"And how dare you, criminal. Trying to use the Champion's sister to discredit me? Have you no shame? Hawke died a hero and yet you attempt to use our past friendships with him to your advantage? I will not allow you to degrade the Champion's legacy as such!" Sebastian shouted.

Anders stumbled back.

He couldn't believe how Sebastian had twisted everything, had played the court, and had led Anders into mistake after mistake.

There were shouts of agreement among the court, angry voices that called shame to Anders for trying to ruin Hawke's name.

"When you destroyed the Kirkwall chantry, you stood alone. Hawke did not stand with you, not even your fellow mages stood with you. Everything that has happened to you has been of your own making" Sebastian said coldly.

Anders felt himself shrinking, stumbling as if struck by a death blow, at the prince's words.

The prince of Starkhaven turned back to the Inquisitor atop her throne. Sebastian knelt once more in a sign of respect.

"I humbly request that Anders be given to me and my people to face punishment for his crimes" Sebastian began.

There were murmurs of approval throughout the throne room, from merchants, to former Circle mages, to templars, to nobility, and even to small royalty.

"The Circle and the Templars failed to deal with him, too blind to see what he was even as a child. The Wardens are incompetent and unwilling to act against one of their own, even a deserter. I have admitted my own sins and failures, but I hunted Anders from the day he murdered the Grand Cleric in cold blood. I have taken every opportunity to do what needed to be done, and bring justice to this mass murderer" the prince said.

In the span of a few minutes, the prince had discredited every other aggrieved party.

Anders watched with hallow eyes as the prince rose to his feet.

"Send Anders to Starkhaven, and I will deal with him. I will execute him and in so doing, make an example of him for all Andrastians to see. Not because he is a mage, but because it is only justice for someone such as he, for one whom would spill the blood of the innocent" Sebastian said.

More murmurs of agreement emerged from the crowd.

Anders let out a low quiet laugh and stared at his boots. They were old ragged things that barely fit him anymore, he lost so much on the run.

His body, his stability, and even his hopes and dreams. He had never been the hero he thought he could be...

Some part of him always knew this was how it would end, hanged or with his head chopped off. But to see everything crumble around him left him empty inside.

Sebastian had changed so much. He was no longer the pure choir boy that Anders had first met years ago alongside Hawke. No, the prince had learned to play 'the game' and had learned well. Learned to play people and ensure that everything benefited him in the end.

Even now, as Anders stood staring at anywhere but the court or the inquisitor, he sensed the approval Sebastian had won over. Could hear the polite but growing murmurs for him to be given to Starkhaven.

"**No**"

Anders's eyes widened and he looked up.

The air seemed to still and the court grew silent at the Inquisitor's word.

* * *

Sebastian's masked of nobility cracked for the briefest of seconds, he had played his part so well, and his anger flared visibly before it was gone and the prince recovered.

He spoke again saying "my lady-"

"No" the Inquisitor repeated, interrupting the prince of Starkhaven once again from atop her throne.

Anders looked up as the Inquisitor rose to her feet.

"Sebastian Vael, Prince of Starkhaven, I've heard your words and your 'corrections.' Heard you speak of our own sins and failures, and I thank you for your honesty" the Inquisitor began.

The prince nodded respectfully.

"But Sebastian, you have proven that the old world failed. Mages, Templar, Wardens, and even you could not stop Anders when you had the chance. I let all parties speak their grievances, and in turn I have heard their sins as well" Lyanna Trevelyan, the Inquisitor herself, said.

"My lady, I-" Sebastian began again.

"I thank you for your time and your words, prince. You have spoken your grievance and made your proposal, that will be all" Lyanna said.

Sebastian bite back his words, backing down, and stepping off stage returning to his men. The prince knew when to pick his battles.

"The Inquisition will decide Anders's fate. The world is changing, and we must remember the mistakes of the past and learn from them, we must set precedence for future generations. The old world failed, and so we are forging a new one. I consult and honor you, all of you" Lyanna said gesturing to her court.

She played homepage to the mages, the templars, the wardens, the merchants, the nobles and the royalty, paid them respect whilst also establishing that only the Inquisition could succeed where they had failed.

"And now, I will judge him for his actions" Lyanna said.

The Inquisitor had learned the game well, not even Sebastian had been able to outplay her in the end and in turn, she had outplayed him.

Even in the midst of the sorrow he felt, Anders registered some small smugness in that Sebastian had failed.

He would not be given to Starkhaven.

Lyanna turned back to Anders and beckoned him to step forward. He did so, the chains echoing across the silent throne room as he did so.

For better or worse, it was time.

Anders looked up into the Inquisitor's gaze.

She was arguably the single most powerful woman in Thedas, a beckon of hope in strange and ever-changing times.

But Anders? He was a washed up apostate whom felt as if he had aged a hundred years while on the run. His youthful vigor gone, his magic taken from him by the templars and their iron, and with the darkness running through his veins that every year brought him closer to death.

Yet, his eyes were still that of a younger man. Even after all the world had dealt him, he could muster his will one last time to meet the eyes of his judge as an equal.

"We have all heard the stories Anders. Heard your crimes and the things they set in motion. So now, I have a question for you. Not for the spirit or demon that residences in you, but you and you alone" Lyanna said.

"Ask" Anders said even as he drowned out the court, leaving only himself and the Inquisitor atop her throne, in his world.

Lyanna shifted in her throne as she spoke.

"Do you feel remorse for what you did? For murdering the Grand Cleric and all those people, for paving the way for a war that would shake all of Thedas?" the Inquisitor asked.

Anders never once lowered his gaze from hers as he spoke. He was eerily calm, he knew there was nothing he could say to avoid his inevitable death. He'd known he was done for the moment his escape attempt had failed.

"You want to know if I feel remorse? If I'm sorry for my actions? Well, then I have a question for you too" Anders said to the surprise of the court.

The Inquisitor narrowed her eyes at him, but did not object.

"You ended the war. You freed my people from the templars and the chantry, you let them join your Inquisition as allies. Why?" Anders asked.

Lyanna stared at the man who stood before her in chains, and realized what kind of man he was.

"Because it was the right thing to do. The chantry played their part in starting the war too, the Lord Seeker and his actions were reprehensible.

A member of my squad was at the White Spire, and he revealed the truth of what transpired there as well as the many atrocities of the templars that the Order covered up. The templars are rebuilding, but they have acknowledges their crimes.

The mages were pushed into the war that you and the Lord Seeker brought upon the world.

Another member of my squad was personally a leader of those still loyal to the Circle, and together with Fiona we brought the rebel mages into the fold. They are not innocent either, but they too, have acknowledged their crimes and are rebuilding into something new. Something new with more freedoms, but also more responsibilities

There had been too much death on both sides, so I ended it and sought to change the old world that had failed it's people, both templar and mage" Lyanna said.

Josephine was scribbling the Inquisitor's words down, she had been recording all statements for future record. History would not forget the Inquisitor's answer.

Anders smiled.

The stunned court, from nobles and royalty, Grey Wardens, former Circle mages and templars, could not believe their eyes.

The infamous war criminal brought before the Inquisition and it's might to be judged, and the man had smiled...

"You did what I could not. You got the templars and the world to see their atrocities, you saved my people and gave them a future. That's all I ever wanted... a better world for mages. I had a small role in that, one moment where I pushed. So then, you want to know if I feel remorse?" Anders asked.

Lyanna tilted her head curiously at the tired and weary, yet somehow still willful, eyes of the war criminal before her.

Anders sighed taking a deep breathe.

"I am only sorry that the innocent had to die. The Grand Cleric who refused to lift a finger to help anyone. The priest working in the chantry, and every mage that died in the war. But after seeing what the world has become, even at what it cost..." Anders began.

"Don't" he heard Nathaniel whisper. The one and only time his old friend had spoken to him throughout this ordeal.

_There could not be peace then. Now, and for the future, maybe there can be _Anders thought.

"**I would do it again**" Anders said at last.

* * *

He could feel than angry eyes on him, but he didn't care anymore.

"I would do it again" Anders repeated before continuing "I would play my part so that my people would one day be free."

"Monster!" Sebastian cried.

The yell echoed and soon others began to parrot the sentiment, the templars chief among them, the former Circle mages only stood solemn and silent, Nathaniel shook his head in disbelief as the Wardens stood unsure what to make of everything.

_So this is it _Anders thought as the Inquisition guards fought to restore order to the court. He barely noticed, standing in chains before the most powerful woman in Thedas atop her throne.

Lyanna raised a hand and the room silenced once again.

The Inquisitor stood, towering over everything and everyone atop her throne, and stared down at Anders.

"I do not believe you are what the templars and others claim you to be, but neither are you innocent. Whatever your intentions were, you went too far. You represent the worst of the rebel mages, who even at the prospect of peace, chose to work against what the Inquisition stood for. I judge you to be guilty of desertion and mass murder." Lyanna said sternly.

Anders bowed his head low.

_I hope they make it quick, the axe or the rope, as long as it's quick... I don't even care anymore _he thought darkly. He always knew it would end with his death.

"You will be made an example of. I hereby sentience you to the punishment of_ Tranquility_. Where you will spend the rest of your days serving the Inquisition and as a reminder of what mistakes the mages of old made" Lyanna said to the stunned crowd.

Anders feel a terrible sense of dread flair, a coldness that awakened from deep within his bones, and he flinched.

He stumbling back to stare open mouthed at the Inquisitor. His legs felt weak before him, and he fell to his knees.

"No" he manged to let out in a voice barely above a whisper.

The court had mixed reactions.

Sebastian was furious, not only had he been denied his vengeance, but Anders would not be executed.

The Wardens found the judgment fair enough, if somewhat cruel.

What remained of the templars cheered, in there eyes a fair and just punishment for a war criminal such as he.

Many of the mages lowered their heads, they had enough sense to accept the Inquisitor's decision. But a small and vocal minority shouted out in anger. How dare the Inquisitor use the Right of Tranquility on a mage, even a criminal! That was a templar punishment belonging to the old world!

"Please don't... I'll take death" Anders said in a barely a whisper.

The Inquisition shook her head at him.

"Take him away. When the times comes, he will be made tranquil" Lyanna said gesturing to her Inquisition guards and the templar escort.

Cane the templar grabbed by the shoulder hauled him up roughly.

"No, anything but that. That's worst than death" Anders was saying as the templars hauled him to his feet.

He began shaking and he felt the familiar twinges that was Justice raging inside of him. Roaring in anger but unable to act, too far suppressed to perform even the smallest of magics.

"I'd rather die!" Anders shouted his eyes wide even as the templars dragged him back and he heard the doors to the throne room opening behind him.

The Inquisitor's cool gaze never left him even as he was dragged forcefully outside and back to his cell.

Anders fought the templars' grasp, but he was too frail and weak without his magic. The last thing he saw of the court was a mix of outrage and cheering at the Inquisitor's decision.

Cane the templar was smirking at him.

_No... no. No! She can't do this! That's the templars punishment! I... I won't let them! I will not become a mindless slave! _Anders thought in vain.

* * *

**I liked writing Sebastian as a changed man, a politician playing the game and manipulating everything.**  
**Only the Inquisitor was ready for him this time, she outplayed him.**  
**As for Anders, playing through Inquisition and siding with the mages... I noticed that the player could actually accomplish what Anders set out to do. I really liked that idea and I wanted to explore that.**

**Thanks for Reading and please Review**


	6. Fate

**Hello again, sorry for the wait had personal things and a ****vacation**** in Las Vegas.  
This chapter is long, lot of smaller character based scenes, but with plot, it's titled 'FATE'  
Thanks to everyone who's read and review so far,**** and**** welcome new readers.**

**Note this probably the second to last chapter.**

* * *

"**I hereby sentience you to the punishment of Tranquility. Where you will spend the rest of your days serving the Inquisition, and as a reminder of what mistakes the mages of old made" **

**\- The Inquisitor**

History would remember the Inquisitor's declaration.

Some would say she was justified, arguing that Anders represented the very worst of the Rebel Mages, the Apostates that refused to aid the Inquisition even after they were officially freed from the Chantry's control.

Those rogue mages whom same claimed even worse than the venatori.

That Anders deserved his fate.

His crimes?

Kindling a spark that would set Thedas ablaze, desertion, smuggling, and for becoming an Abomination.

What remained of the templars stood with the Inquisitor's decision, the Inquisitor seeming to command more respect from them as of late.

It had been difficult for the templars to accept the mages being freed from the chantry's control, but the Inquisition had proven that rebel mages and malefcare would be hunted and put to trial for any crimes committed.

A different world, no circles, but still with a semblance of balance and order.

Anders's fate seemed to win over even the most disagreeable templar to the Inquisitor's side.

Others disagreed.

Mages, mostly young men and women, shouted that it was too far. A small, but vocal, minority of the freed mages.

Their reactions were mixed, some wanted Anders only spared from Tranquility, some wanted him exiled but allowed to live, other wanted him freed and pardoned with the other mages.

Regardless, most of the other powers in Thedas had witness the grievances and the accepted failures of the old world inside the Inquisitor's court.

Many a noble and representative agreed to let the Inquisition handle Anders. Those who disagreed were smart enough to keep their objections private.

The exception being the Prince of Starkhaven.

Sebastian Veal had sought audience with the Inquisitor after her fateful decision, but he'd been denied every time. There was talk that the Prince plotted to take the war criminal for himself, with or without the Inquisitor's permission.

And as for Anders?

There were rumors that the Abomination prowled about his lonely cell, pacing back and forth muttering dark things.

At times whispering to himself.

"I won't let them"

"No... no"

and

"Didn't work? Didn't work? They can't do it! They can't!"

That the man threw his food and drink at the guards when it was brought to him.

It had gotten to the point that Anders's guards were stationed outside the prison, due to the loud and possibly violent outbursts.

Rumor had it that the Inquisitor's spy master had posted agents around the dungeons, there would be no escape for Anders this time.

* * *

When the Inquisitor entered the Skyhold rookery, she'd expected to find Leliana in her usual station sending out letters or else issues orders to her many agents.

She had not expected to find her spy master joined by Cassandra, Vivienne, and Dorian

The four of them rose at her presence but Lyanna waved a hand at them calling "at easy".

"Well now, care to fill me in?" she asked.

Leliana was the first to speak.

"I'm sure by now you know that it didn't work" the Inquisition's spy master said.

"Yes, I read your report" Lyanna answered handing the paper back to Leliana.

"Anders is indeed a rare case, darling. He's bonded with a demon more successfully than any other mage I've ever heard of" Vivienne said in her calm demeanor as always.

"Is Justice really a demon though? From what we've heard of him, it sounds more like a rather vengeful spirit than a demonic being" Dorian said.

"Tis the same thing" Vivienne said off-handedly.

Dorian scoffed saying "no, they're not. Just look at Cole."

"Again you defend the Inquisitor's pet demon? How very... tevinter, darling" Vivienne countered.

"Vishante kaffas, my people studied the Fade more than your Circle did Vivienne. There's a difference between spirits and demons" Dorian began.

"Cole is not the issue here" Cassandra cut in as Leliana only gave the two mages a bemused look.

_Sigh, those two. Times like this I wish Solas were here. He might have known what to do, but I doubt he'd approve of my decision _Lyanna thought.

After Corypheus had been defeated for good, Solas had disappeared. Most of his belongs had disappeared with him, only the paintings he'd drawn in the atrium under the library remained.

The Inquisitor had sent scouts looking for him a few times, but not even Leliana had found any leads.

They had not agreed on everything, but Lyanna had counted Solas a friend and adviser, she truly didn't know what to believe anymore.

"The Rite of Tranquility... it doesn't seem to work too well with Anders" Lyanna said, her word ending all argument.

"No, it doesn't" Leliana said glancing back at the report that had been handed back to her.

Over twelve hours ago, four templars had taken Anders into a chamber further into Skyhold and proceeded to use the Right on him.

They had failed.

Anders had screamed and roared as the templars had to restrain him, his chains having not been enough, before they brought the rod to his forehead.

Leliana's report inlaid the problem.

The moment the rod touched Anders, the blue flames had erupted from his body and an inhuman roar escaped his throat as the apostate yelled in pain.

To the templars' surprise, Anders had proceeded to bite the hand of one of his captors before punching another across the face. The templars had quickly subdued Anders, two men holding his arms behind his back, and the rod was brought to his forehead again.

And for a second time, the blue flames had risen from his body and he'd fought back, the rod only seeming to cause the Abomination an excruciating amount of pain and agony.

"Screw you!" Anders had shouted as the Right of Tranquility had failed a second time.

The man had writhed on the floor in agony after the third attempt and blood had began trickling down from his left eye.

An overly cautious templar had slammed the hilt of a longsword into the back of Anders's head, before they took him back to his cell.

"In your report, you said that you'd been warned something like this might happen" Lyanna asked curiously.

Lelianna nodded saying "Bethany Hawke came to see me."

Lyanna raised an eyebrow as did Cassandra.

"Bethany heard what we had planed and came to speak with me. She claimed that Anders seemed to have a high resistance, and even a way to negate, the Right of Tranquility.

She said she'd seen him undo the process to a mage known as Karl back in Kirkwall, it had lasted a few minutes but in that time Karl regained his emotions." Leliana said.

"Remarkable" Dorian said.

"Dangerous" Vivienne countered.

Lyanna ran a hand through her hair and shook her head.

"Cassandra, have you ever heard of anything like this?" the Inquisitor asked.

The seeker shook her head.

"No, we know now that Tranquility can be reversed... but by seekers, not mages. This is troubling news, so much we still do not understand about the process" Cassandra said.

Yes, Tranquility can be reversed. Not many people knew that fact, but it was true though the person was usually left changed. The Inquisition was currently studying the matter very carefully out of safety for all involved, and Anders had provided interesting data.

"Leliana, you wouldn't have called me here if you didn't have a plan? I would hear it" Lyanna said returning her gaze to her spy master.

"Dorian" Leliana called and all eyes turned to the tevinter mage.

"The Imperium does use the Right of Tranquility. Even on those who have undergone bondings with Demons, whom had merged with a creature from the Fade. There is a method used on such mages, a way to cut off their connection to the Fade and kill all emotion, but it does not always work the way it was intended too" Dorian said.

The way he spoke, without his usual charm, made it clear he did not feel comfortable talking about the process.

No doubt, Leliana had been the one to broach the subject with him.

"What do you mean?" Lyanna asked crossing her arms.

Dorian sighed.

"The tevinter method can work, can kill or remove the spirit or demon as well as cut off connection to the fade, but it can also work very badly.

I've heard of cases where the Right of Tranquility went too far... and the mage in question was left a broken shell of a human being. No independent thought or emotion left, they forget how to speak and eat, they merely exists because their body hasn't died yet" Dorian said with a shiver.

"That sounds... awful" Cassandra said with mixed feelings.

"It is" Dorian agreed.

"An empty vessel, but not dead. As long as the mage's heart is beating they live, but not much else. A worse case scenario where the Right does much more damage that it was ever intended to" Leliana said darkly.

"Truly the man deserves whatever punishment he gets" Vivienne chimed in, remarkably civil in her comment yet strikingly cold blooded.

"Does anyone truly deserve that?" Dorian asked thoughtfully.

"For some people... perhaps" Cassandra answered.

"Regardless, we were called here to discuss the matter for the Inquisitor. Do we proceed and find a way to use the Right on Anders?" Leliana asked.

If the spy master had an opinion on Anders, she didn't share it. For that, the Inquisitor was grateful. Her companions and various allies seemed to have mixed feelings.

Dorian didn't seem fond of Tranquility but he stood by his friend's decision, whilst Vivienne was rather open about her support for the idea. Cassandra kept a neutral expression when the matter was brought up, as she said 'perhaps some people deserved that punishment'.

Iron Bull and Blackwall stood behind her decision. Sera avoided subjects on magic at all times.

No one knew what Varric and Cole thought about the matter.

"We proceed. Anders will serve as a reminder that I freed the mages, but any crimes they commit will be punished. Who knows, maybe in serving the Inquisition he can actually do some good" Lyanna said firmly.

Dorian shifted rather uncomfortably saying "breaking your enemy and re-purposing them for your own ends? How very... **Qunari**"

"Don't compare the two, darling" Vivienne said sharply.

_What would you have me do Dorian? Free Anders after what he's done? I can't do that and everyone knows it _the Inquisitor thought.

"Then we will use the tevinter method and take precaution that the process does not go farther than we intend. We don't want an empty vessel incapable of speech or even eating.

It will take a day or two to gather what we need.

A tevinter circle of wards will be placed around Anders when the time comes, it will aid us in breaking Justice away from Anders when the times comes.

And we will be using a more powerful rod to channel the Right" Leliana said.

"No blood magic" Lyanna said firmly.

"Agreed" Leliana said as Dorian spoke up saying "that is only a power source for this process. A heap of Lyrium will do the same thing."

The Inquisitor nodded solemnly saying "I've made my decision, see to it. Thank you all for your advice and input."

There was a chorus of "Inquisitor" as the two mages and Cassandra proceeded to take their leave of the Skyhold rookery.

Lyanna turned to leave herself, but Leliana called out to her.

"Wait. Inquisitor, a moment if you will?"

Cassandra glanced back at the two of them, before leaving alongside Dorian and Vivienne. She understood when she was needed and when she wasn't.

"Of course" Lyanna called following Leliana onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard below.

Arguably the two most powerful women in Thedas stood atop the tower, watching the crowds of people milling about below with the wind lightly brushing their faces.

"Do you see them?" Leliana asked suddenly.

The woman whom would one day be Divine, gestured onto the courtyard below and the crowds of people milling about.

"Everyday. Ruling is a never ending duty, and no matter what I do I will always have those who disagree" Lyanna said.

"Yes, but do you see the outcry? Not just hearing about it in our reports, can you see it their actions below" Leliana said.

The spy master was looking directly at a group of gathered mages, all of them young, near the tents where the healers worked.

"I know about the minatory of mages who want Anders freed" Lyanna said somewhat defensibly.

She too, looked below to where Leliana watched over the gathered mages.

"They are a danger to themselves more than anyone else. Young and foolish, believing that they know how the world works despite having spent almost their whole lives sheltered in a circle. To them, life is black and white, right and wrong, simple and easy" Leliana said thoughtfully.

Lyanna snorted saying "I remember when I saw the world like that too. Sigh, those were the easy days weren't they."

Leliana smiled lightly at that too.

"They are done trying to free Anders themselves. They don't have the skill to pull it off. My agents stopped three more attempts in the last few days, all of them ill planned, sloppy, and unprofessional" Leliana said.

"They're mages, not bards or spies" Lyanna said watching the gathered mages with almost pity.

In some ways, it hurt Lyanna to see the mages acting out like that. After all she'd done for them, freeing them of the circle and the chantry, pardoning those who were innocent and allowing them to join the Inquisition as allies, not servants.

Leliana nodded saying "when this is done, we're going to have problems. The younger mages see Anders as a hero and a rebel. For the Inquisition to break him, they will be angry. But I believe in time, when the histories have been written, they will understand."

"I can only hope. Most of the mages understand that, but even still. Tranquility is not something I plan on using very much. A punishment reserved for the most severe of crimes, and Anders has committed plenty of those" Lyanna said.

One of Leliana's birds flew by overhead, clearly sending orders to some agent or other, and Lyanna barely spared the thing a glance. She'd gotten used to them over the last few months.

"That is good to hear" Leliana said after a moment of silence.

The Inquisition was a ruler in her own right, but she wasn't heartless.

"And you have Cassandra and many others researching how to undo the process in secret. Good, many have been put through the process unjustly" Leliana said.

Lyanna nodded.

"There are mages who were made Tranquil that did not deserve it, and 'tis a cruel fate indeed. During my travels with the Hero of Ferelden, we encountered many Tranquil and it seemed a lonely pitiful existence. _That_ is what the mages cry out" Leliana said.

Lyanna frowned as Leliana turned to her.

"They fear the Inquisition is the Templars reborn"

_No, that's not what the Inquisition is _the Inquisitor thought.

"I'm grateful that you're worried about what the Inquisition could become, but we're not the templars. We're better than that, that's why Josephine and I are drawing up a speech declaring that Tranquility is only for the highest of crimes" Lyanna said honestly.

Leliana smiled and nodded respectfully at her.

There was the sound of footsteps behind them, and Lyanna glanced behind her seeing a tall elven man approaching with a tea tray.

The elf offered up the tray, complete with a pot of fresh tea and cups.

"Tea, your worship?" the elf asked.

"No thank you" the Inquisitor said off-handily, barely sparing the servant a glance as she did so.

"Thank you" Leliana said accepting a cup of tea before the elven servant bowed and politely took his leave of them.

The Inquisitor watched as her spy master take a drink of her tea, seeming to brighten up visibly as she did so.

_Must be some great tea, maybe I should have gotten some too after all. No, that poor servant had to climb all those stairs, don't want to make him do it again _Lyanna thought.

"I knew there would be outcry with my judgment, there's been outcry ever since I first got the mark" Lyanna said.

The Inquisitor held up her hand.

It had been quite some time since she'd had to use the Anchor, and the Inquisitor was glad for it.

"Least of all the nobles, Sebastian is still very upset about this" Leliana said softly.

"Ah, the sooner that man is gone the better. No matter, we'll deal with this one step at time just like we always have" Lyanna said.

She was glad for her spy master's advice and perspective on matters such as these. Lyanna would miss her when she officially became the next Divine.

"Oh and one more thing. Bethany has a request she wanted me to bring to you" Leliana said taking another sip of her tea.

"A request?" Lyanna asked.

"She's been helping my agents keep an eye on some of the more vocal mages. Even managed to calm a few rebellious youngsters down" Leliana said.

"Really? You put her up to that?" Lyanna asked.

"No. She likes to help people" Leliana said with the smallest of shrugs.

"What's her request?" Lyanna asked.

* * *

_Later  
Dungeons  
_

Anders paced about his cell at the sound of footsteps approaching.

_What is it now? _He thought darkly.

He had become unruly as time went on inside this dark prison. The ever lingering terror of tranquility put him on edge, and no matter how unhinged he got, he couldn't help but relish the feeling.

Tranquility stripped a man of all emotion, even fear, and some part of him wanted to feel... to feel anything for as long as possible before it was taken from him.

If it even could be.

They'd tried earlier, no doubt wanting the matter dealt with as soon as possible, but they'd failed. Justice had proven a complication.

He was still swore from the attempt, it had been pain unlike anything he'd ever known. Bleeding from the eyes, aches in his bone, and the strongest headache of his life.

Last time food was brought for him, he'd thrown it back at the new jail keepers shouting for them to get it over with.

Waiting was worse than any punishment he could think of.

Anders stopped pacing and turned to glare at whomever was coming his way.

Only to blink in surprise at the sight of two figures standing before his cell.

Bethany Hawke and a templar.

"The Inquisitor's granted you five minutes. I'll be nearby if he tries anything. Don't get too close, he's been throwing things at the jail keepers" the templar said.

The templar escort turned and left Bethany alone with Anders, for the moment.

Anders couldn't believe his eyes, he glanced down at himself and regretted the state of his body.

The skeletal frame, scars on his chest and throat, greying hair, and the ever increasing ragged look about him ever since the strain of the failed Right of Tranquility.

He looked more a corpse than when Varric had visited him.

"Bethany... I- I didn't think I was allowed visitors anymore" Anders said awkwardly.

"You're not. I requested a visit and the Inquisitor granted it" Bethany said without emotion.

_Those eyes... so cold _Anders thought.

It seemed the sweet girl he'd known years ago was gone, burned away, and replaced with empty hollow eyes that had seemed to have lost whatever joy might once have been there.

He didn't like seeing her like that.

_If Garrett was here and saw her like that, he'd have- but he's not here. Garrett's gone now too _Anders thought darkly.

"So it really is you in there. Anders, I mean. I don't want to talk to the other guy" Bethany said looking him over.

"It's me, it's always been me. Look around the cell, you feel it too don't you? The templars and their iron, it disrupts our magic. Only way to hold a mage prisoner" Anders said darkly.

"I felt it the moment I stepped inside, my magic blocked from me" Bethany said slowly.

He nodded his head weakly, his chains rattling as he did so, and slumped forward onto the bars of his cell.

"I'm sorry about Garrett. Truly, I am" Anders said once again feeling like he was a hundred years old.

Bethany stared at him for a long time, seeming to consider that.

"I believe you" she said finally.

_She still hates me _Anders thought.

"Why did you come here?" Anders asked suddenly.

"Varric thought I should get closure. To see for myself if there was anything of my friend still there" Bethany said.

"And?" Anders asked weakly.

"I think he died a long time ago" Bethany answered deadpan.

_So that's it huh? I'm dead to her. Might as well, just about everyone hates my guts these days _Anders thought.

"Do you truly hate me that much?" Anders asked dreading the answer.

Bethany paused at that.

Funny, the last time they'd met she had kicked his ass. Outclassing his magical talent in nearly every way, only Justice had proven a threat, able to resist her force magic and so she was forced to simply overwhelm him before he could act.

Yet now they were having a somewhat civil conversion.

Life, Anders pondered, was strange.

"I want to hate you. I want to hate you so much" Bethany said bitterly, her hands clenching into fist.

Anders opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything so stayed silent.

"I want to blame you for what happened to my brother. But I can't, because it wasn't your fault. Garrett always had to help. Always had to be the Hero

Well, I didn't want a hero... I wanted my brother" Bethany said.

He could hear the hurt in her voice, Garrett was all she had left in the world and now he was gone too.

"What you did was unforgivable. Not just for me, but countless others. I did what I could to help my fellow mages during the war, but I'll never forget the bodies piled in the streets. In a way, you remind me of the Darkspawn" Bethany said suddenly.

Anders looked up at her from his cell, wide eyed.

"When my family and I lost our home in Lothering... I wanted to hate them too. I wanted to hate the Darkspawn but I realized it was pointless. Things happen and that's the way the world is, the only thing we can do is move on and keep living. The war's over and the world has changed." Bethany said.

_Kirkwall was my home too. What kind of life could you have had in the Circle? _Anders thought.

"You hear what they have planned for me?" Anders asked.

Bethany nodded.

"Tranquilly" Anders said with a cold laugh.

Bethany said nothing.

"Does anyone truly deserve do that" Anders spat onto the floor of his cell.

"... maybe" Bethany said.

Anders stepped back from the bars of his cell shaking his head.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry for what I did? I'm not... I'd do it again knowing what I know now. Our people are free" Anders said looking at her with tear filled eyes.

That one idea was all he had left in this life, that he had started with the Inquisitor had finished and ended the templars' reign of terror on his kind.

"You're a monster" Bethany said looking at him coldly.

Anders wiped the tears from his eyes, chains rattling as he did so.

"Humph. So that's it huh? After everything I'm dead to you? Well, I'll be dead to the world before long" he said letting out a cold laugh.

The sound of heavy footsteps was approaching, it seemed Bethany's time was up.

"Goodbye" Anders said bitterly.

He slumped down on the wall in his cell, his back to the wall.

"Ma'am I've come to take you back" the templar escourt said.

"I see" Bethany answered without saying goodbye.

She followed the templar's lead and left Anders all alone in the dark once again.

Alone with nothing to do but wait for whatever fate awaited him.

* * *

_Sometime later  
Skyhold_

Sebastian Vael headed back to his private quarters in a rather foul mood flanked by his two guards.

He'd spent the day trying to speak with the Inquisitor, something that proved nay impossible as of late.

Apart from him, several mages had been attempting to speak with her as well. They were a minatory within the mage community, however they wished a lighter punishment for the scum that was Anders.

_Unbelievable _Sebastian thought.

Some of the mages actually wanted Anders freed? Sebastian would never understand how any sane person could think a man like Anders deserved freedom.

The Inquisitor's chief diplomat, the lady Josphine, had been polite in her refusals but they had been refusals none-the-less.

Things had been going so well for Sebastian in the Inquisitor's court, he'd outplayed Anders and the Wardens at every turn, found common cause with the templars, and outlined the former circles' many failures.

He had Anders within his grasp, the entire court willing to let him deal with the matter once and for all.

Then, the Inquisitor had ended his scheme with a single word.

"**No**"

She had refused him and in turn outplayed him, paying respect to all other players whilst painting herself and her organization as the only ones truly qualified to handle Anders.

Sebastian sighed, he'd just have to find some other way to get at Anders before it was too late.

The Prince of Starkhaven swore that he'd have his vengeance.

Upon reaching his room, his guards took position just outside his door, and his body fell into rhythm removing the elegant armor that served both as formal wear and practical protection.

The Prince felt his muscles relax, the mildly annoying weight of his armor gone, and he stretched in a much more comfortable undershirt and trousers.

He was about to kick off his boots when he heard the sound of his guards arguing outside his door.

The Prince turned and listened.

"I want to speak with Sebastian" a familiar voice called.

"Madam, you don't get to make demands of royalty" one of his guards answered.

"Men!" Sebastian called out in a calm but stern voice.

The arguing outside his door ceased, and Sebastian continued "it's alright. Let her in."

Sebastian's door opened, one of his guards stepping aside while the other kept a firm hand on the door.

"Bethany. What can I for you?" Sebastian said surprised to see her.

Bethany Hawke stood in the doorway, flanked by two Starkhaven guards, dressed in light robes fit for a mage with her staff in hand.

She held a neutral expression on her face, but her eyes gave her away.

The intense blue that reminded him so very much of her brother.

"I wanted to talk to you" she said.

His guards were giving him wary looks, but Sebastian paid them no mind.

Bethany was a sweet girl who disliked violence, she would never do anything to harm him.

"Come in" Sebastian said and she stepped inside despite the silent protest of his guards.

His room would have offended many a noble for it's simplicity, but as Skyhold had many guest staying lately it was to be expected, and Sebastian had lived in the chantry for years with the bare minimum, it's size did not bother him.

"I apologize, if I'd known you were coming I would have put something more elegant on" Sebastian said, regretting the decision to take off his armor. For now, a simple undershirt and trousers with matching boots would have to do.

"I don't care what you wear" Bethany said in a cold tone that surprised him.

His guards didn't seem to like her, they stepped inside with the two of them before shutting the door.

"I heard about what you did in the Inquisitor's court" Bethany said suddenly, paying no attention to the intimidating Starkhaven guards nearby.

"Yes, I laid my grievances to the feet of that murderer. All the court did, yet still he has eluded my grasp again" Sebastian said darkly.

"I wasn't talking about that" Bethany said completely deadpan.

Sebastian tilted his head at her, he had no idea what she wanted from him.

The last time they'd spoken had been under hostile circumstances in the Skyhold tavern, but now she sought him out at his private quarters?

"You twisted our past in Kirkwall, you brought up my past as an apostate for the whole court to hear. _My life is not a tool for you and your games_" Bethany said coldly.

"Beth-" he began.

"You even twisted the memory of my brother" she said in a low dark voice.

If he was being honest, Sebastian had been hoping to avoid bringing certain things up during Anders's trial. But in the end he deemed it necessary, he'd needed that information to discredit the others and turn the court to his side.

"It wasn't like that. Anders is the one who brought you and the others up. Hawke was my friend too, I'd never twist his memory. Garrett was a good man but even good men make mist-" he began in a calm civil manner.

_SMACK_

She slapped him across the face.

The Prince of Starkhaven stumbled back from the blow.

There was a collective gasp from his royal guards, they made for Bethany, but Sebastian held up a hand calling them off even as he regained his footing.

"Don't ever say his name again" Bethany said, her voice a low cold murmur.

Sebastian felt a drop of blood trailing down his lip as he rubbed his cheek where she'd struck him.

He looked up and stared at her, stared the midnight black hair and blue eyes... and his eyes widened.

Suddenly, it was as if he saw the Champion of Kirkwall standing before him. The same cold demeanor that Garrett Hawke had adopted when dealing with criminals and the scum of Thedas.

"You betrayed all of us Sebastian. You could have put Merrill at risk with you said in court, and what about Nathaniel? He was our friend and you destroyed his reputation, maybe even his career?" she said coldly.

Sebastian made to speak but Bethany interrupted him again.

"You used my brother to win over the court... twisting everything about him... and for what? For Anders? All for your blighted vengeance?!" Bethany said.

"I do what I have to, Anders must pay for his crimes" Sebastian said not meeting her eyes.

"His crimes? As if you're any better, you _invaded _Kirkwall. That was our home, and your little war killed how many people? That's not even the worst of it, I haven't forgotten about that night... you said you would have _killed every mage in Kirkwall_ if you needed too. Even me" Bethany said nearly trembling as she spoke.

The way she spoke, her voice quivering at the end, even after all these years she'd never let that go.

The fact that Sebastian would have been willing to kill her and her people just to get at Anders.

"I... I was wrong. I would never have hurt you Bethany. Garrett was a brother to me-" he began only to cough as he felt himself grow suddenly heavier.

The Prince of Starkhaven was brought to his knees with a groan of pain.

In the blink of an eye Bethany had used her Force magic.

He struggled to lift himself, but found that he seemed to weigh at least sixty pounds more than he had seconds ago.

"I told you never to say his name again" Bethany said sternly.

The weight of his legs seemed to increase, and he let out a pained groan feeling his bones ache to their core.

Sebastian looked at her pleadingly his eyes beginning to water, the pain in his legs becoming unbearable.

His royal guardsmen strode forward. One drawing his bow and the other his longsword.

Bethany didn't even glance their way as suddenly both royal guardsmen fell to the floor, their weights seeming to have doubled in the span of a second. She could cast with the barest of movements and with a speed that was freighting to behold.

Sebastian's guards groaned in pain, barely able to move and the pain in their bones growing ever larger.

"My prince" one guard moaned as the blade in his hands suddenly weighed a hundred and sixty pounds, he stumbled further into the floor unable to lift the sword, or even his own feet.

The royal guard with a bow, managed to notch an arrow despite the pain and agonizingly turned to aim for Bethany.

She snapped a finger and the bow _froze_ in the guardsman's hands. The man gasped in shock and his bow shattered into chucks of useless ice that fell to the floor with an audible thud.

Sebastian felt the gravity around him tug even harder and he was slammed face first into the floor with a heavy thud.

"Ah!" the Prince groaned, his face pressed firmly to the floor.

His eyes were tearing up from the pain, it was unlike anything he'd ever known. Force Magic.

"I went to see Anders today, not long ago actually, and as bad as he is... **you're worse**" Bethany said.

"Do not compare me to that monster!" Sebastian said coldly, his face pressed hard against the floor as he struggled to lift himself.

"The both of you thought what you were doing was right and just, you're both monsters who refuse to see what you are. You'll never change, I don't think we ever really knew you after all Sebastian" she said shaking her head at him.

Sebastian groaned fighting the pain in his legs and torso, he managed to turn his head and look up at her from the floor.

"Bethany stop. You're going to break my bones" the Prince of Starkhaven said weakly as his royal guards watched on helplessly.

She loomed over him, her expression never changing as she surveyed him up and down, that same cold look in her eyes. She really was a changed woman.

"Garrett was my brother, not yours. And he would have been ashamed if he knew what his 'friend' had done in that court" she said.

Then without another word, Bethany Hawke turned her back on him and his guards leaving them behind as she left his quarters.

The gravity rings that seemed to pushed everything to floor vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, and his guards gasped in relief.

Sebastian slowly stumbled up letting out a grunt as the pressure at his legs released, but he managed to stay on his knees.

He looked up staring at the open door.

Bethany hadn't even bothered to close it on her way out.

The prince got to his feet, panting as he did so, his knees still ached from the moments where the gravity around them had nearly tripled.

"My prince" his guards called out to him.

"I'm fine" Sebastian said reassured his men.

The Starkhaven royal guards exchanged looks.

"We must inform the Inquisitor. You were attacked in your private quarters by some mad mage bitc-" a royal guard began.

"No" Sebastian said suddenly.

His men stared at him in stunned silence.

"This never happened, you will never speak of this again" Sebastian said in a commanding tone.

"My prince" the Starkhaven royal guards said nodding in confirmation.

The men rose, bowed, and left their Prince to recover alone his room.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

"It is the templars come again!"

"They'll make us all Tranquil! Just you watch!"

"Free Andres!"

The crowd of young mages said or rather shouted into face of Cullen and a mixed group of Inquisition guards and templars.

The commotion was in the Skyhold main hall leading up to the Inquisitor's throne, the mages goal to speak with said Inquisitor regarding Anders.

Little did they know that the Inquisition had already tried(and failed) to make Anders tranquil that very same day.

Cullen was having a rather hard time settling the mages down, they seemed determined to have their outcries heard.

Luckily the movement had died down somewhat thanks to the Leliana's agents and Bethany talking a few young mages down. Even still there were mages who cried out injustice for Anders and their kind.

"What remains of the templars is a shadow of it's former self, we serve the Inquisition and it's allies. That includes you. This is not the precedent for all mages, please return to your quarters" Cullen said, doing his best to speak softly.

He found it rather difficult when facing a dozen young men and women who could each use magic.

"How long before they makes us all Tranquil!" some mage shouted.

Cullen sighed inwardly, the sooner this business was done with the better as far as he was considered, he did not particularly enjoy holding back crowds.

Further back, lady Josephine and Lyanna emerged onto the hall.

The Inquisitor had been informed of what was happening earlier, and she'd had an idea that she wanted to run by Josephine.

"Now is as good a time as any. Poor Cullen, the man does feel he has to do 'everything' himself" Josephine said watching the crowd.

"I'll talk to them first, but I'll want copies passed through Skyhold" Lyanna said as she strode forward Josephine at her side.

Cullen was still trying to keep the crowd of mages calm when they spotted the Inquisitor herself striding forward, the woman they'd been trying to meet with all day.

"Ma'am" Cullen said in greeting, standing between the mages and the Inquisitor, as she arrived before the crowd alongside Josephine.

"I understand you wanted to speak with me. And I understand that, but causing havoc in the main hall is unacceptable. Settle down, or your voice will never be heard and you _will _return to your quarters having accomplished nothing" Lyanna said, her voice stern and sharp.

The voice of a champion, a leader whom has led men and women into battle.

Silence followed her words.

Cullen exchanged a rather bemused look with Josephine.

The mages collectively seemed to take a step back at Lyanna's presence.

"Now then, I have a declaration to make. The senior mages were informed, but as you have not listened to their guidance nor met with them, I felt it proper courtesy to inform you as well" the Inquisitor said.

"You should feel honored, in the old days the templars would not have informed you at all" Josephine said politely.

"Since you have so _kindly_ gathered before me, I thank you for saving me the trouble of having to track you all down. You speak for the mages that object to my judgment, you want a repeal, a change in Anders's sentence. The answer is **no**" Lyanna said.

There was murmuring among the crowd of mages, Cullen kept a hand on his longsword but made no move to unsheathe his blade.

"Who are you cast judgment!" a rather unruly mage said stepping forward, he was a tall man in his twenties with a scar running down his forehead.

He'd taken a longsword to the face and lived to tell the tale.

Leliana had informed her about this man, according to Bethany he was considered the leader of these mages whom wanted Anders freed and feared for all mages.

Colin his name was, he had fought in several bloody battles throughout the war, and had nearly been hanged by the templars more than once.

It was said he had a deep hatred for the templars, and had only reluctantly joined the other mages in the Inquisition when discovering that his people had been pardoned.

"And who are you to claim he is innocent?" Lyanna countered.

Colin seemed to pause at that.

"The truth is that war is a terrible thing. None of us here are truly innocent, we've seen battles and most of us have killed. But there are those that go too far, and that is what Anders did. To claim that Anders freed your people is akin to saying the Corypheus did so as well" Lyanna said.

"No!" Colin said defensibly as several of his fellow mages joined him in a collective outburst.

Cullen reluctantly stepped aside as Lyanna strode forward to meet the crowd of mages face to face.

"I'm glad you can see the problem. Monsters who start a war are no heroes. And as for your fears about the Inquisition becoming the templars. Fear not, have I not proven that I care for the mages?" Lyanna said staring down Colin and the others.

Colin stayed silent.

"I saved your people at Redcliffe, Fiona knew you were losing the war and turned to Tevinter out of desperation. Only they wouldn't have saved you, we now know that Alexius would have enslaved the lot of you as his own private army. I stopped him, and allowed the mages to join the Inquisition as equals" Lyanna said.

"But you used Tranquility. That's... that's worse than death. How do we know you want use it again? We haven't forgotten what you did for us Inquisitor, but you have to understand our fears?" Colin said pleadingly.

Josephine stepped forward and handed a sealed paper to the young mage leader.

Colin took it hesitantly.

"What's this?" he said.

"My declaration" Lyanna answered simply, almost as if she were but a messenger and not arguably the most powerful woman in Thedas.

Colin broke the seal and several other mages crowded behind him to read the contents.

"I officially set the Right of Tranquility as the highest of punishments for mages. Higher even than execution, only to be used in the very worst criminals. The Inquisition is not the templars, even if we ally with what remains of them" Lyanna said.

Josephine spoke up saying "that is the Inquisition's official stance on the issue, I suggest you and your people read the declaration carefully."

"The templars have also seen the declaration, they are no longer able to use Tranquility at will. I've heard your concerns and I answer them, now you will return to your quarters for the night" Lyanna said.

Colin and the other mages stared at the paper before turning their gaze to the Inquisitor.

_This won't solve everything, but it's a start _Lyanna thought.

"Thank you, my lady" Colin said giving the smallest of bows as he and his people disbanded and headed their separate ways.

Lyanna watched the mages leaving alongside Cullen and Josephine, she had to resist the urge to sigh.

"You handled that well, they'll settle down now even if for a few days" Josephine said.

"Always more problems" Lyanna said, letting out a frustrated sigh at long last.

The Inquisition had handled many difficult decisions since it's formation, decisions that were almost always met with mixed reactions. Solas had warned them that problems would come from those decisions in the future, out of fear for what the Inquisition could become, but Lyanna had hoped it wouldn't be this soon.

* * *

_Many hours later_

The rest of that evening was rather uneventful in stark contrast to the eventful day that passed in Skyhold.

Rumors were abound of the incident involving the Prince of Starkhaven, but nothing concrete, the whispers only gossip to most ears.

Nonetheless, the prince was not seen for the rest of the day though one servant noted that the man had a lightly bloodied lip and that he seemed rather down as of late.

Guards gossiped that Anders the Abomination was immune to Tranquility, that he'd received another unnamed visitor, that he paced about his cell throwing whatever he could get his hands on when the jail keeper came near him.

The topic of the Inquisitor's declaration found it's way onto many a mage and templar's tongue that evening. Some rejoicing, others not so trusting.

Bethany and Varric were spotted drinking in the Skyhold tavern, many gave the two friends their privacy as people noted the girl seemed to carry a somber mood about her these days.

All was quiet for the Inquisitor that evening, that was until the commotion outside her private quarters started in the early morning.

Lyanna Trevelyan opened her eyes, mildly annoyed at sound of knocking at her door.

"Inquisitor! There's something you need to see!" a voice called from outside.

_Always another problem. The sun hasn't even risen yet and again some thedas shattering event requires my attention _Lyanna thought.

She slowly got out of bed calling out "what is it?"

A moment of silence from outside.

"My lady... I don't know. Sir Cullen said it was on a need to know basis" the Inquisition soldier answered from outside.

_Cullen wants to keep this quiet? This must be bad _the Inquisitor thought.

"I'll be right there" Lyanna called grabbing her robes and light armor.

Within minutes she was reasonably dressed and stepped outside finding the Inquisition soldier waiting patiently.

"Inquisitor" the soldier said in greeting.

"Take me to Cullen" Lyanna said not wanting to waste time.

The soldier saluted and Lyanna followed him out.

To the Inquisitor's surprise, the soldier led her to the dungeons, with the entranced flanked by two fully armed templars.

"My lady" the templars called as she and the soldier passed them.

Navigating the maze of tunnels that served as the Inquisition's prison, Lyanna found Cullen speaking in hushed tones with five templars and two of Leliana's agents.

Cullen turned to her as they approached, dressed in full plate armor and wearing a grim expression on his face.

"Inquisitor, I thought you should know right away. I've sent for Leliana and Cassandra as well, they'll join us any minute" Cullen said stepping forward.

_I know where we are _Lyanna thought a sinking sensation beginning to emerge from deep within her as she imagined the possibilities.

"Is it him? Did he escape again?" Lyanna asked in a hushed tone.

"No... worse" Cullen said stepping aside and letting her see for herself.

Lyanna stepped forward and peered into Anders's cell.

Her face fell into a hard grimace at sight that met her eyes.

The door was still locked tight, but Anders was sprawled on the floor of his cell, chains hanging loosely to his limbs, and with a deep gash running across his throat.

Dark red blood had run down his ragged clothes leaving dark stains, before pooling into a puddle on the ground beneath him.

His lifeless eyes wide open in shock and staring at the ceiling.

Anders was dead.

* * *

**As much as this is a story about Anders, it's also a story of the world and the characters who's lives he touched.  
That's why Bethany played a larger role this chapter, that's why Aveline had a cameo, why Sebastian is here, and why I wanted Bethany to compare Sebastian and Anders for the monsters they both became in her eyes.  
Right of Tranquility is a controversial topic in the canon, so I thought it'd be the same here.**

**Thanks for Reading and please Review! (Please don't post spoilers)**


	7. That Which Remains

**Hello again.  
Okay guys, here's the deal.  
This was supposed to be the last chapter but it got ****absurdly**** long.  
So it's been split in two, I apologize but it's what I got to do.**

* * *

**That which remains**

"How did this happen?" Lyanna Trevelyan said slowly.

Here she stood, before a cell in the Skyhold's dungeons, stood inside the Inquisition fortress, the base of their operations, and her home.

Yet, something or someone had slipped passed it all.

She'd ordered guards stationed around the dungeons, patrolling the maze of cells, and had two templars stationed nearby... all for naught.

Even now, a handful of Inquisition soldiers stood nearby and yet they too had the same confused look about their face. No one knew how this could have happened.

Lyanna looked down at the body sprawled on the floor of the cell, he had looked a corpse before death, and now it seemed his look suited him. His lifeless eyes, wide open in shock, unnerved her.

_Those eyes... what was the last thing he saw I wonder? _Lyanna thought.

There were voices behind her, and Lyanna turned seeing that Leliana and Cassandra had arrived and were speaking with Cullen.

Taking once last look at the corpse locked in it's cell, Lyanna strode toward her advisers and joined them.

Cullen was explaining what had happened, saying "he was found by the guards. Ever since he manged to break out we kept a closer eye on him."

"I don't understand. Who could have done this? Was it revenge for his crimes? Was it done personally or by a hired hand" Cassandra was saying.

"His throat was _sliced open_... that seems very personal to me" Cullen said.

Lyanna cleared her throat getting her advisers' attention. "Cass gather the servants and guards, and speak to them. We need to know if they saw anything."

Casandra nodded, she was once a Seeker and she would investigate the matter to the best of her ability along with the Inquisition's other agents.

"It will be done" Cassandra said before she began barking orders to the Inquisition soldiers gathered nearby.

"Cullen, I thank you for keeping this quiet. Speak to your templars, and remind all our men who have seen Anders that this needs to stay quiet for the time being. Not a single word gets out, no gossip, no rumors, only silence" Lyanna said turning to him.

"My lady" Cullen said as he ordered his men to keep this matter a secret and turned to leave, he had to speak with the templars guarding the dungeons, and he was not in a mood for excuses.

Lyanna turned to her Spy Master, seeing that Leliana had been eyeing Anders's old cell with a curious gaze.

"What are you thinking?" Lyanna asked.

"It could have been any number of things. Many a powerful man hated him, and the more rebellious mages wanted him freed, but they're too sloppy for something like this" Leliana said thinking aloud.

"Have your agents look into the matter, your best experts and assassins. I want a report as soon as possible, don't rush it. We need to get this right, we need to know what happened" Lyanna said.

Leliana nodded saying "I will have my best agents investigate Anders's death, and I will personally look into the matter as well."

Lyanna sighed and turned back to look at the corpse locked inside it's cell and sprawled on the floor.

In life, Anders had had a fire inside of him. A will that never quite seemed to break no matter how dark his world got, she'd seen it in the way he mocked the Prince of Starkhaven, the manner in which he'd spoken with her.

She had been the only one to break that will it seemed, she remembered the terror in his eyes when she had judged him guilty and sentenced him to the Right of Tranquility.

Remembered the way he'd shouted and fought as the templars had dragged him out of her throne room, and remembered the servants' reports of him lashing out in anger and despair.

In death, Anders looked a frail old man weary of this life. The greying hair, the lifeless eyes, the gaunt look on his face, and now the deep gash across his throat completed the picture of a dead man that the world had beaten down.

"I need to speak with Josephine. We can't keep this a secret for long, and when the news breaks we need to be the ones who break it" Lyanna said turning to leave.

* * *

More than a day past before Josephine and the Inquisitor issued an official statement reporting only the facts about the incident in the dungeons.

Anders was dead, not much else was known and the matter was being investigated.

Some around Skyhold had noticed something had happened. A few Inquisition guards and templars had been tight lipped about their shifts. Most however, suspected nothing out of the ordinary.

People went about their day whatever their opinion on Anders. A few of the more rebellious mages still called for a lighter sentence on Anders, many a senior and wiser mage said nothing, and most templars approved.

So when they news hit that Anders was dead, it caused quite a stir indeed.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the fortress. Gossip turned official news into wild speculation, no one knew who or what had killed Anders and as people are often want to do, they invented tales where the truth had gapes.

Some of more rebellious mages claimed it was the Inquisitor's plan all along, to kill Anders. A foolish notion, if she had wanted him dead she'd have executed him long ago. Other mages claimed it was mercy.

The senior mages, whom had always supported the Inquisitor in public, simply choose to let the matter drop and move on to more pressing matters.

Many templars were unhappy with the whole thing, most had wanted Anders to pay for his crimes and had agreed with the Inquisitor's judgment, but instead their 'justice' was snatched away from them.

Rumors were starting that perhaps one of the more rebellious mages had killed Anders for mercy, whilst other tales told of a vengeful templar killing the man out of uncontrollable rage.

The Prince of Starkhaven was in a fury when he fought out.

Sebastian Vael had proceeded to call the Inquisition's security a joke, 'they can't even guard their own prisoners, first a break out and now THIS.'

It's said that Cullen dragged the man away from Josephine's office after one too many complaints.

Anders's death was the talk of Skyhold, and yet no one knew for sure how or even why it happened.

…

Varric sat the Skyhold tavern, drinking a mug of ale, and seated across from him was Bethany at their usual table. They were alone this time, Iron Bull was chatting up the serving girls and Blackwall did whatever he did at the stables when he wasn't with the Inquisitor.

All around the tavern, there was a gossiping mood in the air as people traded stories or else made claims that even Varric would have raised an eyebrow at.

_The templars were right mad, they were. _

And

_Inquisitor's not happy at all, she didn't want him killed_

Even with the bards working their craft, there was no way to drown out all the gossip completely.

"He's dead now huh?" Bethany said suddenly.

Varric glanced up at her, his old friend was staring at her cup of water with a blank look on her face, she had that look a lot as of late.

"So they say. No ones the whole truth, I can tell. You can't bullshit a bullshiter" Varric said.

"Funny as always" Bethany muttered.

"What I can say, what are dwarfs for? But yeah... Blondie's gone now too" Varric said, he'd started on a light note before steering into significantly darker territory.

Bethany a long drink of her water.

"I took your advice you know? I went to see him... I must have been the last person he saw before it happened" Bethany said suddenly.

Varric looked at her wordlessly, he wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

"He looked so... broken. So sad, I don't think he'd have lived long even as a Tranquil. His body looked terrible and he'd suffered a lot" Bethany began slowly.

"Yeah, Blondie looked like a corpse the last time I saw him" Varric muttered taking a sip of his ale.

Bethany adopted a conflicted look on her face, slowly she spoke.

"I can't say I'll ever forgive him, and I can't say if this is a better punishment or not... but I guess what's done is done" Bethany said taking her time to work out her emotions.

Varric and Bethany had known Anders for years, had known him as a friend and neither could believe what he'd become. There was a time when they would have died for him, and he for them, but those days had passed like so many other.

There are bonds formed between friends, and no matter how damaged... they can be quite hard to break. Hawke had brought together a diverse group of people and turned them into a second family of sorts, now that group was shattered.

Each of them had gone their separate paths, two of them had become monsters as Bethany claimed, whilst the others had other duties to attend to. Only Varric and Bethany had managed to somehow finding each other again in all this mess.

"What do you make of all this?" Bethany asked her friend suddenly.

"Shit, Suneshine I don't know. We've seen some pretty weird crap in the last year or so, Blondie's gone now. I don't think it matters what we think anymore" Varric said.

"Sadly... I don't think those people see it that way" Bethany said looking at something on the other side of the tavern.

Varric glanced off to the side, and noticed what Bethany had spotted earlier.

A group of young mages, huddled together, and speaking angrily even amid the full crowd of the tavern. There was no doubt what they were talking about, the same as everyone else.

Varric sighed saying "I feel bad for the Inquisitor, she's gonna have her hands full from the nobles and now the mages too."

* * *

Lyanna Trevelyan stood in the war room with her advisers, each reporting in more than twenty four hours since the incident in the Skyhold dungeons.

"The servants and guards can tell us little of what happened. It was the guards who stumbled upon the corpse in the early hours of the morning on patrol, but they noted nothing out of the ordinary" Cassandra said.

"Same for the templars, I questioned them but they arrived late to the scene, only after the guards had informed their superiors" Cullen said darkly.

All eyes turned to Leliana, the ever calm spy master of the Inquisition whom held the report on what the Inquisition's findings had been at the scene of the crime.

"Anders's death is unusual, in that the murder weapon was found in the same room as his body" Leliana said.

"wh... what?" Cullen said hardly believing his ears as Lyanna mulled that over.

Leliana slide her report over to the Inquisitor, and Lyanna scooped it up skimming through it even as her spy master spoke.

"It was a knife found near his body. It was covered in blood and hidden under the darkness of his cell, but it was same blade that killed him" Leliana said.

"His killer forgot their weapon? Who could make that kind of mistake?" Josephine said, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began.

Cullen scowled saying "perhaps it's a taunt, the Inquisition has no shortage of enemies."

Lyanna looked up from reading the report, and turned to Leliana saying "explain what you mean here by, the angle of the cut."

"A single incised wound to the neck, at a slight upward angle that bled him out in seconds" Leliana said slowly.

"Maker, what a violent way to go. They must have hated him, though many did" Cassandra said thinking aloud.

"Except that's the thing, it may have been violent but it was quick. Perhaps it was a mercy killing" Lyanna said meeting her spy master's gaze.

"The mages again, only the young and foolish had any kind of compassion for Anders. They tried breaking him out once and failed, I doubt they could pull something like this off" Cassandra said.

"Leliana's agents are some of the best, but anyone can make a mistake" Cullen said somberly.

"I doubt that, but anything is possible" Leliana said off-handily.

"In your report, you said your agents discovered that the angle of that cut fits with an upward slash, with the blade held downward in relation to the one holding it. But that means the killer was behind him when they killed Anders... or maybe something else" Lyanna said thinking over.

All eyes turned to Lyanna as she considered things.

"Could it have been suicide?" Lyanna asked, her voice low and cautious.

"Suicide" Cullen parroted as he and the other adviser's thought that over. Anders had been terrified of the Right of Tranquility, and though they had failed the first time, the templars reported it had been an extremely painful process for him.

Was that the answer then? Was suicide the only way out?

"It's possible... a blade sneaked into his hands by some agent or other. Alone in the dark for so long, he could have taken things into his own hands" Cassandra said thinking aloud.

"The angle of the cut, and its position could support suicide. It would also explain why the blade was found near his body, fallen from his hands as he lay dying" Leliana said considering the idea, and running through simulations in her head.

"If so, then who managed to sneak a blade into Anders's hands" Lyanna said.

"If it even was suicide. It could have been murder, a revenge framed to look like a suicide. It was a violent death" Cullen said thinking aloud.

"Many hated Anders for his war crimes, there are any number of suspects for a revenge killing. Then there the mages that sympathized with him, a mercy or a suicide. All three are possible" Josephine said turning to the other advisers in turn.

The Inquisitor didn't like this, even with all the facts they'd gathered their were still too many variables to consider.

Too many people who could have done it for any number of reasons.

Lyanna scowled saying "we've looked at the facts and we still don't know enough. We need to talk to anyone who might have hated Anders enough to kill him, or anyone who sympathized with him enough to take action."

"I've prepared a list" Josephine said, she'd been expecting something like this would been needed and so had taken action upon hearing the news.

"I ordered the Inquisition guards to keep a tighter watch on those leaving and entering Skyhold. Very few have been allowed to leave, everyone should still be here for us to question" Cullen said.

The commander of the Inquisition's military arm had taken action in the hours following their discovering of Anders's death, and he'd gotten approval from the Inquisitor before hand.

"Good, this is messy business. But I'm proud to have you all as my advisers" Lyanna said managing a small smile at the people gathered before her.

The Inquisition has become such a masterful operation of manpower, social maneuvering, and intelligence that at times it almost seemed to run itself to Lyanna's will. Her advisers doing some tasks she wanted done without her having to tell them, and able shoulder her burdens with her in any task, and any difficult decision she made.

"Maker help us, yet more fallout" Cassandra said muttering more to herself than anything, and the Inquisitor and her advisers all smirked.

Always more work to do.

* * *

Hours later, the Inquisition began questioning several people considered to be a suspect for Anders's death, or murderer depending on who one speak with.

Questioned about their whereabouts and actions on that night

Nobles, always a pain when questioned about their innocence, from the Free Marches to Ferelden as many had grievance for the war Anders's caused, the Mage-Templar war that ravaged Thedas.

They were taken off of Josephine's list rather quickly, many didn't care enough about Anders to take action as many had agreed with the Inquisitor's judgment.

Templars had no need of questioning, but for the sake of equality the more viscous members were questioned as well. It was a formality, but proved fruitless as for the most part, the templars wanted Anders made Tranquil, not killed.

The Senior mages, such as Fiona, Vivienne, and First Enchanter Irving helped sort out the mages. Many did not approve of Tranquility in theory, but most made an exception for Anders.

Leliana called upon Bethany Hawke to aid them in speaking to the more rebellious mages, and true enough many had not been happy.

Foolishly, some claimed that it was Inquisitor's plan all along. Which, as Bethany pointed out, was stupid because if the Inquisitor wanted Anders killed then she would ordered him executed.

Leliana's agents were glad to have Bethany to help mediate things with the younger and more rebellious mages. They spoke with them, and though the official questioning was over, those mages would be watched closely in the days that followed.

It was still possible that those mages had a role in things, but in truth Leliana doubted it. They'd tried to help Anders before and had been very sloppy each time, they weren't professionals.

Lyanna had informed Cullen and Leliana to let her speak with one particular suspect personally, and she did not look forward to it.

The Prince of Starkhaven.

…

"Unhand me" Sebastian Vael said.

The Prince was losing his carefully crafted mask of posh royalty as the Inquisition soldiers hauled him forward into the war room.

Before him, stood the Inquisitor herself, Cassandra, Cullen, Leliana, and the Lady Josephine.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Prince asked warily as he took in the sight of them. He had been rather rudely taken from his room, oddly enough after being escorted back due to his many complaints, and brought back here.

"We have questions for you" Cassandra said darkly.

Sebastian shrugged off the soldiers' grasp, dusted himself off, and managed to give a polite if annoyed bow before the Inquisitor. He would never let it be said that the Prince of Starkhaven forgot his etiquette.

"You believe I had a hand in Anders's murder" Sebastian said calmly.

Despite his mask of polite nobility, Lyanna could see the sharp lines of annoyance in his eyes at her and her advisers.

Cullen stepped forward, standing quite taller than the Prince, and spoke saying "you never made your quarrel with Anders unknown."

"Indeed, you were at Kirkwall were you not sir Cullen?" Sebastian said suddenly, his arms crossed.

"I was. And I remember you too, how much you've changed" Cullen countered.

"As did you, from templar to Inquisition commander. We both saw what Anders did, we saw the chantry in ashes. So no, I never made my quarrel with that _scum _unknown" Sebastian said.

"Anders is died, and though you are royalty, you have to understand how this looks. As a curtsy, the Inquisitor herself has joined us, but we must question you." Josephine said.

Sebastian nodded, he understood even if he did not particularly enjoy it. Just outside, his royal guards waited outside.

His men could nothing however, they were in a foreign land and severally outnumbered. Even as Sebastian's two royal guards awaited outside, _fourteen _Inquisition soldiers kept on eye on them fully armed and armored.

"Where were you on the night of-" Cassandra began only for the Prince to, unusually rude, interrupted.

"Please, Inquisitor let me save you and your organization some time and effort. I did not kill Anders, if I did you would know" Sebastian cut in.

Cassandra scowled but Lyanna raised a hand stopping the former Seeker from an outburst, the Inquisitor wanted to hear what Sebastian had to say.

It was generally common knowledge that the Prince had wanted Anders for himself, had wanted a public execution before Maker and man, but no, it seemed that had been snatched away from him.

The Prince had not been pleased at that.

"I would have had Anders executed in the Maker's name. Would have avenged Elthina before the eyes of my god and man, scholars would written it in the history books as a triumph for the Chantry, and a reminder of the danger of rogue mages" Sebastian said meeting the Inquisitor's eyes.

"Perhaps the Inquisitor's judgment was not enough for you, perhaps you took vengeance into your hands... and you still haven't given us proof of your innocence" Cullen said crossing his arms.

"I would not have wasted coin nor effort to have Anders killed in his cell. My royal guards and other men can vouch for my presence in the tavern, your Lady Josephine's office, and my chambers on the night of the incident" Sebastian answered rather quickly.

Lyanna shared a glance with Josephine.

"He did spend several hours trying to contact you, your worship. And I did speak with him multiple times in my office" Josephine said.

Sebastian nodded saying "and I would not pay someone to do it for me, and even if I wanted to it would have been difficult for me not to be seen. I am well known, even here."

"Yet you have several men with you, and in the past you put a considerable bounty on Anders, preferred alive, but a bounty nonetheless" Leliana said speaking up suddenly.

Sebastian sighed inwardly, and Lyanna caught how well he managed to hide that fact behind his mark of royal etiquette.

"I searched for Anders for four years, I took every avenue I could" was what Sebastian answered.

"And Kirkwall? Invading a city was all in the name of a manhunt?" Lyanna said, speaking for the first time, and putting Sebastian on the spot.

Months ago, Lyanna had received a request for aid in Kirkwall by Viscount Bran and Guard Captain Vallen, whilst Sebastian had sent for aid in his conquest.

Varric had advised her not to help a conqueror, and so the Inquisition had lent military aid to the resistance forces led by Aveline Vallen, and together they'd thrown the Starkhaven forces out.

Sebastian's flinched and his eyes narrowed, the first crack on his mask of royal etiquette, and gazed at the woman who had foiled his attempts to annex Kirkwall.

"I have admitted that the operation in Kirkwall was a mistake. And as you have not charged me with anything, I ask that you let me go" Sebastian said coolly.

_It's the damned thing, but I don't believe he did it. He would have made it more personal and dramatic for the Chantry _Lyanna thought.

"Anders is dead, and I can see no reason for you to be held any longer" Lyanna said before narrowing her eyes at him and continuing "you're welcome to stay at Skyhold for as long as you desire... a curtsy."

Josephine smirked, how polite a way to say 'get the hell out of my fortress'.

"I thank you for the invitation, but my people have need of me. And as you said, Anders is dead. It appears the stories of the Inquisition's might and resources were proven wrong, unable to stop a single murderer in their very halls" Sebastian said.

The prince had stopped caring about being polite it seemed.

_I've been insulted by better than you _Lyanna thought smugly.

Sebastian turned to leave, but suddenly Leliana stopped him and waved the Inquisition soldiers to block the doorway.

"You've put makeup on your face, what are you hiding?" Leliana said suddenly as the Prince narrowed his eyes coldly at the Inquisition forces blocking his way.

The Inquisitor crossed her arms, she hadn't noticed it, none of the others had, but if Leliana thought it was important then she would see it looked into.

"Turn around" Cullen commanded and Sebastian turned to find Leliana standing before him.

The Prince stumbled back, he hadn't even heard Leliana's steps, and he flinched nearly leaping back as the Inquisition spy master reached for his face. Sebastian and his people were good, but Leliana was better.

"An innocent man has nothing to fear" Lyanna said coldly.

Sebastian glared and stepped back slowly even as Leliana's gaze never left him, he raised a hand gently rubbing a small portion of make up off his face. It revealed a purple bruise planted firmly on his face, from the look of it, it had been recently formed.

"A rather embarrassing fall. You'll excuse me for covering it up" Sebastian said coldly.

"And your legs?" Leliana asked pointedly.

Sebastian nearly flinched again, there was no hiding anything from the Inquisition spy master and future Divine it seemed.

"You've been walking with a slight limp. And you have trouble standing for long periods of time, what happened to your legs and why hide it?" Leliana asked.

Sebastian managed a sly smile saying "as I said, a rather embarrassing fall."

Leliana held his gaze for several seconds before turning away saying "he can go, he's not important anymore."

That irked the Prince's ego, but he played it cool saying "my people need me, forgive me Inquisitor but I will be leaving this day."

"Go then" Lyanna said as the Inquisition soldiers stepped aside, letting the Prince through the doors.

The man didn't look back on his way out, and they heard his royal guards rejoining him as he departed for his private quarters. All eyes turned back to Leliana awaiting her thoughts on the matter.

"Well then, what was he hiding?" Cullen asked now that they were alone.

Leliana stiffed a small laugh saying "Force Magic. I'd say Bethany Hawke paid him a visit recently, and it didn't served him well at all."

* * *

True to his word, Sebastian Vael departed Skyhold with his men that very night.

The Prince had come for Anders, and no matter his influence, his power, or even his schemes, he had failed. He could only take solace in fact that the war criminal was dead.

_My the Maker judge him justly _Sebastian thought as he mounted his horse alongside his men.

Sebastian and his forces left in a hurry, green traveling cloak flapping in the wind as they departed in a sea of horses leaving via the main gate.

Few watched him go, Sebastian had made allies at Skyhold but he had also made enemies. There was still tension between Starkhaven and the Inquisition, recent events were unlikely to change that.

Whilst the Prince of Starkhaven fled, many others stayed awaiting further news of the Inquisition's investigation regarding their prisoner.

But alas, there was seemed little for them to do.

In the many days that followed, Leliana's agents watched the more rebellious and younger mages closely, but they learned nothing new that could help them uncover the truth. Some claimed it was a mercy, and let the matter drop while the majority, including the senior mages led by Fiona, gladly give the investigation whatever they needed.

The templars had nothing to offer, no noble or merchant could have done it as questioning and research by the spy master proved their innocence.

It truly was a mystery for the ages, and that frustrated the Inquisitor to no end.

All her power, and she could do nothing.

Lyanna had gone about things as well as one could in the days that followed, and she knew she'd have to close the investigation as they had countless other matters to intend to.

It was with a heavy heart, that Lyanna Trevelyan the inquisitor herself sends her advisers away for the evening, their work is done and they are dismissed.

However, the Lady Josephine lingers and Lyanna waits calmly for the others to leave before waving her over.

"What is it?" Lyanna said in a tired dry tone, it had been a long day with little results.

"There's a man whom wishes to speak with you considered Anders's body. Specifically what we do with it. I would have brought it to your attention earlier, but we had the investigation to deal with" Josephine said in her kind sweet voice.

Josephine knew what she was asking, knew that Lyanna wanted to go to bed, but Lyanna knew that her political adviser would not have bothered her needlessly.

Lyanna considered that with a sigh, and Josephine spoke up saying "the man has been waiting since the early morning to speak with you."

The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow saying "that's at least thirteen hours."

Josephine nodded saying "he's persistent, but he's patient."

Lyanna chuckled at that saying "I'll see him."

Josephine was kind enough to escort her out of the war room and into the office the political adviser had taken for her own, and out into the main hall leading to her throne.

There seated in a simple chair and waiting patiently with a random book in his lap, was the Grey Warden Nathaniel Howe.

He wore his usual black leather armor, his weapons had been left in the quarters granted to the Wardens for their stay, and a tired expression was planted on his face.

Warden Howe stood at the Inquisitor's presence and bowed, and Lyanna blinked in surprise.

Of all the people she'd been expecting, Nathaniel had not been one of them.

"Your worship, the Lady Josephine was kind enough to bring my request to your attention then? I but ask for a moment of your time" Nathaniel said politely.

_After everything that happened in Anders's judgment, Sebastian's reveal about the Wardens, your own scandal, and you came to see me willingly? _The Inquisitor thought.

"Make it brief" Lyanna said calmly with Josephine at her side.

Nathaniel nodded and seemed uneasy as he spoke making his request, "if I may ask, it's been days now and what do you intend to do with Anders's body?"

Lyanna considered that for a moment before answering "the same as all prisoners, the Inquisition will cremate him in the Chantry manner and scatter the ashes in an unmarked piece of land nearby."

Nathaniel seemed to consider that carefully before speaking with carefully chosen words.

"Inquisitor, whatever Anders was or became... he was a Grey Warden. Whatever else, he was a Warden for a time. It is the Wardens whom should deal with him in death, it is our way." Nathaniel said.

"Your way? The Wardens are an order I have trouble understanding at times, you give your life, and your death, for the cause. You do whatever it takes, and that causes problems at times, yet... sigh, you did your part when it counted. The Wardens fought alongside the Inquisition in the end" Lyanna said mulling things over.

"Whatever our mistakes, we had the best intentions in mind. We admit our mistake and we work everyday to redeem ourselves to the world" Nathaniel said firmly.

Lyanna could see it in his eyes, he meant it. She could see the emotion, the will, and the resolve in this man's eyes to help the many that they had wronged.

"You care so much for a man such as Anders? To the point of your public scandal at Sebastian Vael's hand, I can not imagine what he must have done to win such loyalty." Lyanna said.

"Anders was an insufferable ass when I knew him" Nathaniel said taking both the Inquisitor and Josephine by surprise.

_I did not expect that _Lyanna thought with a raised eyebrow.

"He never shut up. Always finding something to bug me with, or else telling jokes that only he found funny. He committed terrible crimes, yet he saved my life and countless others in the battles at Amaranthine. I ask that the Wardens be given his body" Nathaniel said remembering better days and not the mess this world had become.

"... What will you do with his body?" Lyanna asked crossing her arms.

"We will cremate him, and scatter his ashes in the Deep Roads. It is our way" Nathaniel said respectfully.

Lyanna turned to Josephine.

"Hmm... I would see no harm in it at this stage. Anders is dead, and his body is of little consequence to those in power. If you feel the need for stealth then simply do not inform anyone, but not attempt to hide it either. Mere details" Josephine said thinking things over.

That was Josephine all right, she was an expert player of 'the game' and weaved prediction after prediction of how every action and inaction would effect and influence friend or foe.

Lyanna crossed her arms saying "very well, the Grey Wardens will be given Anders's body. Have a nice evening."

"Thank you, your worship" Nathaniel said bowing low.

The Inquisitor and her adviser the Lady Josephine parted ways, each headed for their private quarters, and Nathaniel heading back to his fellow Wardens.

_What a day _the Inquisitor thought to herself as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, ready for a long deserved rest.

* * *

Leliana let out a heavy sigh from her workstation at the Skyhold rookery.

She'd planned on returning to her private chambers for the night, the day had been busy enough with all this Anders's business, but she still had letters to write and orders to send

And so it was, that Leliana had found herself staying up to some unnatural hour of the night, sending word to her many agents and network of spies over Thedas.

She was scribbling her orders down and had prepared a bird in short order, when she heard foot steps approaching.

Leliana stopped her writing and looked up seeing a lone figure, a tall elf, calmly walking toward her... carrying a tea tray complete with kettle and cups.

The elf must have climbed all the stairs in the tower, virtually unheard on his ascent, to reach Leliana's rookery.

"Tea?" the elf asked offering her a cup.

Leliana smiled warmly saying "thank you very much."

The elf poured her a cup with steady skilled hands and placed it on her table, before he turned away to leave.

Leliana took a long drink, taking in the sweet taste in her mouth, before letting out a relieved sigh.

She glanced up seeing the elf heading for the stairs. Only Leliana rose to her feet, crossed the distance between them in moments, and proceeded to grab him by the wrist stopping him in his tracks.

Now, normally when someone catches you you're supposed to fight back, make a run for it, or even jolt back in surprise.

The elf did none of these things.

He didn't even try to resist Leliana's grasp, he stood still and silent as a statue, tea tray in hand while Leliana held him by the wrist. As if he'd expected it.

"The tower is empty at this time of night, we're alone" Leliana said.

The elf said nothing, his back to her.

Their silence carried for several moments before the elf slipped out of her grasp in the blink of an eye, a feat that would've proven difficult for even the best Antivan Crow or Orlesian Bard, and calmly set the tea tray down on a nearby table.

He never looked back at her, not even when he calmly untied the kitchen apron he'd worn and set it down beside the tea tray too. He appeared another elven servant roaming Skyhold, doing their duty and working to keep the people fed or else maintain the fortress.

"Look at me" Leliana said not unkindly.

Slowly, the elf turned to look at her, his curiously grey eyes meeting hers.

Leliana raised a hand and gently cupped his cheek. The elf said nothing, his eyes boring into hers as she held his face.

"You don't have to hide that from me" she said rubbing away the expertly applied makeup on the man's face... _revealing the thin faded scar running down the side of his face_.

From a distance the make up was undetectable, even from some of her best agents, but up close Leliana was skilled enough to see the outlines.

"Your tea's getting cold" the elf said calmly.

"It can wait" Leliana said.

The elf raised a hand and swatted Leliana's hand away gently. She looked him up and down, yet the man never lost his cool, always calm and in control.

"**Did you kill Anders?**" Leliana asked, her eyes never leaving his.

The elf tilted his head at her. He was not an old man by any means, but his eyes were what gave him away, his eyes were that of a man aged before his time. A man who had seen enough for several lifetimes.

"Yes" the elf answered.

* * *

**Bit of a cliff-hanger, but I had to cut off somewhere.**  
**Sebastian is gone, though his legs might never be the same, and the word is out about Anders's death. I wanted to show the Inquisition's efforts to solve an unsolvable case, too many variables.**  
**I liked writing Nathaniel, and his plea to the Inquisitor seemed natural for me, there really is no escaping the Wardens.**

**And so the lone figure, the scarred man, has been revealed.  
Thanks for Reading and please Review!**


	8. Judged

**Hey guys, here we are... this is the last chapter.  
This chap is HUGE, a real behemoth, and dialogue heavy. **  
**But stick with it, it all pays off in the end, thanks to everyone for reading and review.**

**Special thanks to Exile037 and Pintsizedpsycho for their kind and informative reviews.**

* * *

**The Finale: Judged**

The silence in that one moment seemed to carry for an eternity, Leliana staring into the eyes of the lone figure, the scarred elf, standing before her.

"**Did you kill Anders?**" Leliana asked her eyes never leaving his.

She was tired, and she wanted an answer on this unnaturally early hour of the morning, yet the man before her seemed to have the patience to wait all day if he chose to.

Leliana had no doubt that he could _wait _all day and night without answering if he chose to. Even so, she had reason to believe that he would not.

He tilted his head at her, never once blinking as he did so, his eyes always made him look much older than he really was.

"Yes" the elf answered.

Leliana gave the smallest of flinches at his answer, and took a step back. She closed her eyes deep in thought as the man waited patiently for her reply.

"We don't need to have this conversation here and now" the man said answer several moments of silence.

"We do" Leliana said coldly, her eyes snapping open to the man before her.

He didn't even flinch at her words, many would have ran in terror at the Inquisition spy master, and future Divine, but he stood still and silent.

She watched as he tilted his head and she followed his eyes as he moved them below, he looked at the stairs and the area below them in the tower.

"We're alone" Leliana answered in response to his unvoiced question.

"It's a long story" the man said, moving to the tea kettle he'd set down earlier, and pouring himself a cup with steady skillful hands. "Then make it quick" Leliana countered as the man took a sip of his tea.

The scarred elf nodded and so began his tale in hush tones that wouldn't carry below the rookery.

* * *

_Flashback  
__A few days after Anders was taken to Skyhold_

The village was a small lively one, it stood along the road between two cities, the perfect rest-stop for weary travelers.

A lone figure walked the streets of that village, he was considered tall for an elf, wore a one-of-kind medium leather armor, and had wrapped himself in a old red traveling cloak that had seen better days.

His cloak let him pass for human unless one looked under his hood, elves weren't always treated very kindly, and many a time they were treated with less dignity that even the poorest commoner.

It was night, and many village folk were heading home, or else going out for drinks, as the lone figure walked towards the local tavern. He'd arranged for a room at the local Inn, but he wanted to hear more news of recent events.

He'd been gone for a very long time, his journeys having taken him far to the west, and much had changed in his absence.

In fact, it appeared a brave new world had been forged whilst he was away on his own path.

The lone figure entered the tavern, took a seat at the bar, and ordered a drink as he sat quietly listening to the gossip. He took a drink of his beer when it arrived, handing the bartender some coin, and listened to the locals gossip about their usual dribble. But what caught his ears, were the three templars drinking in the corner of the tavern and chatting about just 'who' had finally been captured.

The lone figure was a expert at gathering intelligence, he was no mage nor was supernatural, but he _did _have a near mastery over all his bodily senses.

Sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

He could focus in on one or two of those senses, blocking out the others, and see or hear things that many could not. It was not a form of magic, it but required discipline, and it allowed him to inspect situations better than most.

Even now, taking a drink of his beer, he drowned out the rest of the tavern, barely aware of the boring locals and their gossip, and instead focused on the templars and their chat, their words becoming louder and clearer than every other sound in the room.

"Yeah, that's the word anyway. After all the shit that's gone down and we finally caught him, Jennifer and her team were the ones that got him" one templar said to the others.

"Found him in some cave in the middle of nowhere I hear. Anders, that war criminal is finally caught... and the Order is a shadow of what it used to be" said another templar.

The lone figure took another drink of his beer, pulling his traveling cloak tighter around himself as he listened in on the templars conversation.

"So Jennifer and her team took him to Skyhold. The Inquisition is the only one that can deal with him now" a templar was saying.

"Maker, they should have just killed him right then and there" said one templars, the youngest of the group, with a bitter tone.

_That one's angry _the lone figure noted to himself.

"No, the prick needs to be brought before someone with the power to deal with him once and for all. The world needs to know about him and his kind, and the Inquisitor's the one to do it" said the other templar.

"Please" the younger templar scoffed before continuing "she'll just go easy on him. She's a mage lover, freed all the freaks from the Chantry and the Order, then she pardoned them."

"Hey stop-" an older templar began but the younger continued anyway

"Stupid bitch, and they say she sleeps with some deserter that joined her squad" the templar said bitterly.

"You watch that tongue of yours boy! The Inquisitor's one of the most powerful people in Thedas, she killed Corypheus, and she ended the war. Remember she's helping restore the Order, not just the mages, but yes... the freaks won't be under our control anymore" one templar said smacking the youngest by the ear.

_Prick? Mage lover? Freak? Stupid bitch? Templars... they never change. For an Order of supposedly holy and devote men, they tend to be mostly thugs. Only one man in ten is worth anything _the lone figure considered.

He didn't particularly like templars, he didn't hate them to be fair, there were very few things he actually hated, but in his time he'd seen how the templars were. A shame that so many in there Order could act like thugs and rise, whilst those few good men and women were struck with the grunt work.

The lone figure finished his beer and turned his attention away from the templars chatting in the corner, he learned very little that he didn't already know.

Weeks ago, he had learned of Corypheus, had learned of the Inquisition's formation, of the hole in the sky and the rifts, of the supposed Herald of Andraste, of the Grey Warden's corruptions, of Skyhold, and lastly he'd learned that Anders had been captured.

_I was already heading to Skyhold. What's one more reason? _the lone figure thought.

He rose from the bar, turned and headed for the exit. The locals paid him no mind, he was just another person in the crowd, seen but unseen.

He stayed at the local Inn for the evening, then was gone before the sun rose again.

* * *

_Later_

The lone figure trod uphill, red traveling cloak fluttering in the wind, and stopped to take in the view before him. The fortress sat in a stretch of the Frostback Mountains near the Dales, on the border between Orlais and Ferelden, and was currently headquarters to the Inquisition.

"Tarasyl'an Te'las - 'the place where the sky was held back'" the figure muttered to himself.

He took in the sight, the fortress had been repaired recently and he could tell there was still work to be done. Regardless, here was where the latest power in Thedas held it's base of operations.

Many people made their way to Skyhold these days, ever since Corypheus had been defeated the Inquisition had only grown in power and reputation. Even now, he could see lines of people ranging from merchants, to templars, to newly freed mages.

He had learned recently that many people were visiting the Inquisitor's court to have their grievances heard against the infamous war criminal that had been captured.

Nobility from the Free Marches, Templars, former Enchanters, and even Grey Wardens.

There was the possibility that some people in Skyhold might know who he was, might recognize him, so he had come prepared.

The lone figure knelt down reaching into his traveling bag, and pulling out make up worthy of the Antivan Crows and a simple mirror. The process was slow, but he covered up the scar on his face, the thin faded thing disappearing from his face all together.

He collected his things, rose to his feet, and wrapped his red traveling cloak around himself tighter, before he began his descent down the hill towards the fortress awaiting him.

Agron Tabris, the Hero of Ferelden, former Warden Commander of Amaranthine, slayer of the Archedemon, savior of the Fifth Blight, and living legend, had finally arrived at Skyhold.

* * *

"**So you came for Anders? Even then, you knew? You came for **_**him **_**of all people?**" Leliana said interrupting Agron's tale with cold piercing eyes that didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

"**No, how could I have known what the Inquisitor had planned? At first I came to see you, Anders was an afterthought. I've have thought you of all people would know that**" was Agron's calm response.

"**I saw you on the day you arrived. You were in the courtyard**" Leliana said in barely a whisper.

"**Yes**, **I was. And I thank you for keeping my identity a secret**" Agron replied.

…

_More than a week ago.  
Skyhold Courtyard_

Leliana stood on the balcony of the tower, stood watching over the courtyard below. She knew that trouble was brewing.

The more rebellious young mages were fools whom wanted Anders pardoned or else given a light sentience despite his crimes. They wondered around _in the open _and discreetly made plan after foolish plan.

They'd already tried to help Anders and had failed. The plan wasn't thought out and it had ended up doing more harm than good for everyone.

Foolish, but mostly harmless now that the Inquisitor had ordered her to keep an eye on them, acting only when necessary. Leliana's agents and Bethany did their best to keep watch over them without provoking them.

Then there was the matter of the Prince of Starkhaven. The man arrived late last night, he'd arrived with several of his men on horseback after taking ship from the Free Marches.

She didn't like the man, he'd invaded a city already ravaged by the fighting from templars and mages, and the Inquisitor had found that he made demands quickly. And her agents had informed her that he was plotting something.

Leliana watched the prince play his little game. Gathering allies for his plans by finding common cause with those who arrived just as he had. Those that would lay grievance for Anders on his judgment.

However something caught Leliana's attention, the feeling that she was being watched.

She tilted her head, spotting a lone figure looking up at her tower from down below in the courtyard. A new arrival apparently.

An elf with a red traveling cloak draped over himself. Few if any took notice of him, and that was how he preferred things.

She gazed down at him as he looked up.

Her eyes met the curiously grey ones below.

Leliana smiled.

_Agron _she thought with a warm fond smile, as smallest of smiles emerged on his lip. A moment of recognition and warm thoughts.

The elf below her raised a finger to his lips. _Shh _he seemed to say.

Leliana didn't nod, didn't react in the slightest, but merely turned back to her rookery. She had work to do, and she knew Agron would came to her when the time was right.

_He never did like drawing attention to himself _she thought.

* * *

"**Do you regret not telling the others?**" Agron asked.

"**No... even if I did, there was no stopping you if you put your mind to something**" Leliana answered slowly.

Agron took another drink of his tea before pulling a chair from a nearby table, and planting it across from her workstation. The living legend took a seat and beckoned for her to join him as he took yet another sip of his tea, saying "**it is a long story**."

Leliana did not enjoy being invited to sit at her own workstation, but she joined him taking a seat beside him and accepted her old cup from his steady hands.

She took a sip of tea, Agron was right as usual, her tea had started to get cold as the man spoke.

Leliana listened as he continued his tale.

…

"**I didn't plan on doing anything at first. I just wanted to see him, to see if what I'd heard was true. And I did... I saw him as he was being escorted to the throne room**" Agron began.

"**You saw the mob then. The Inquisitor didn't want that, there's a reason his escort was so large**" Leliana said.

"**Mmm, it was also something that Prince of Starkhaven wanted. He got his wish alright, I saw Anders dragged through the mud, the people shouted him raw. They _spat _on him, threw garbage on his face, called him a murderer and a monster.**" Agron said slowly.

"**It was to be expected, no? Many had family in Kirkwall, family that died when he destroyed the Chantry and started the war**" Leliana said.

"**Anders was stupid enough to kindle a fire no one could control. But it was the Lord Seeker who started the war officially, I knew enough to see that**" Agron said.

"**Yet you still cared for him?**" Leliana said her eyes raised coldly.

"**I was his teacher, I taught him how to be a Warden. Seeing him again after all this time... he looked a corpse that had been forced to walk. Some dead thing put in chains for the people's amusement. You know he smiled at the insults the mob threw his way, he didn't gave them the coward they expected, there was defiance even then. I can respect that, even if we disagree on many things**"Agron said simply.

_Taught him to be a Warden? Anders deserted, he never denied that _Leliana thought biting her tongue.

"**I didn't get into the throne room that day. I wasn't there when the Inquisitor judged him for his crimes. But I had infiltrated the fortress in my own way, and it was only thing people gossiped about**" Agron continued.

"**You sneaked into the servants quarters somehow, stole a uniform and blended in**" Leliana said simply.

Agron shrugged saying "**it wasn't hard with so many new arrivals at Skyhold. So many servants needed to keep the place fed and maintained. I grew up working shifts in Denerim, I knew how elven servants worked and I blended in playing the role of the new guy.**"

"**And no one noticed you? Not even the supervisors?**" Leliana asked feeling a cold sharp pain in her gut, he made it sound so easy.

"**They didn't know to look for me, I pulled my weight like every other elf and no one noticed. Cleaned the stables and swept the floor. When I was a kid, my cousins showed the trick that fools a lot of people. **

**An elf in a servant's uniform whom always looks busy, with somewhere to go or something to do, is invisible to outside eyes.**

**Remember that, the next time someone infiltrates Skyhold could be the last. I'm not the Inquisition's enemy, but if I can do it that means others can too**" Agron said.

_None of my agents ever reported him, no one knew he was here. I'll need to work on this _Leliana thought, the part of her mind that reigned as spy master knew that Agron's lesson was invaluable and one that could prove disastrous if learned the hard way.

"**You stole the tea kettle and tray**" Leliana said turning to look at tray Agron been carrying.

"**Took it from the kitchens. Started serving people cups and no one noticed, not even when I came back for supplies. I needed to learn more after the Inquisitor judged Anders worthy of the Right of Tranquility" **he said.

He turned to her, and he almost looked sad, saying "**I did try to talk to you... but the Inquisitor was there."**

"**I remember**" Leliana said.

* * *

_The day after Anders's judgment  
Sometime after the Right of Tranquility failed_

Agron walked into the tower wearing his servant's uniform, his scar covered by a freshly applied layer of make up, tea tray in hand, as he made his up the tower stairs seen but unseen. Even the other people in the tower paid him no mind, mages and scholars, to them just another servant delivering tea.

He heard Leliana speaking with who he assumed was the Inquisitor on his way up the stairs, but there was no turning back now. Better to keep the scene up, then to risk an anomaly by turning back.

He stayed calm, even as the Inquisitor and Leliana spoke about the decision to make Anders tranquil.

Yes, Agron had learned what the Inquisitor had planned for his former student, some things were too big to keep secret. Especially when angry young mages complain vocally and templars defend it so publicly for all to hear.

_Brutal, but it's about sending a message _Agron had thought.

"When this is done, we're going to have problems. The younger mages see Anders as a hero and a rebel. For the Inquisition to break him, they will be angry. But I believe in time, when the histories have been written, they will understand" he heard Leliana say.

He was up the stairs when he heard the Inquisitor respond "I can only hope. Most of the mages understand that, but even still. Tranquility is not something I plan on using very much. A punishment reserved for the most severe of crimes, and Anders has committed plenty of those."

_So, this is Lyanna Trevelyan. The Inquisitor herself_ Agron thought standing in the doorway as he watched the two women speak.

He stood silent as a shadow in the doorway listening in further and hearing Leliana speak again, saying "and you have Cassandra and many others researching how to undo the process in secret. Good, many have been put through the process unjustly" Leliana said.

The Inquisitor nodded and he saw the look in her eye, she counted Leliana one of, if not, her most trusted adviser and her approval meant much.

"There are mages who were made Tranquil that did not deserve it, and 'tis a cruel fate indeed. During my travels with the Hero of Ferelden, we encountered many Tranquil and it seemed a lonely pitiful existence. That is what the mages cry out" Leliana said as Agron listened from the shadows.

Lyanna frowned as Leliana turned to her.

"They fear the Inquisition is the Templars reborn" Agron overheard Leliana say.

"I'm grateful that you're worried about what the Inquisition could become, but we're not the templars. We're better than that, that's why Josephine and I are drawing up a speech declaring that Tranquility is only for the highest of crimes" Lyanna said softly.

_The way she talks, she means what she says. Good, the Inquisitor's not just another politician _Agron thought as he started forward.

It took several seconds, but the Inquisitor glanced behind her seeing him approaching with his tea tray and servants' uniform.

He offered up his tray, complete with a pot of fresh tea and cups.

"Tea, your worship?" he asked.

"No thank you" the Inquisitor told him off-handily, barely sparing him a glance as she did so.

_You see too many people throughout your day Inquisitor. You don't pay attention to everyone you meet the way you should. You really are a Noble at heart aren't you? No fortress is perfect, don't let your guard down or you'll learn that the hard way _Agron thought.

Agron walked right past the Inquisitor, she never even saw his face, and handed Leliana a fresh cup of tea from his tray.

"Thank you" Leliana said accepting a cup of tea from him and giving him a soft smile, he bowed and looked up at her, their eyes meeting.

_Nice to see you again _Leliana seemed to say.

_We'll talk later, I promise _he seemed to answer as he stood.

"I knew there would be outcry with my judgment, there's been outcry ever since I first got the mark" the Inquisitor said oblivious to the unspoken conversation before her.

Without another word, Agron politely took his leave of Leliana and the Inquisitor.

* * *

"**You don't like Lyanna- the Inquisitor very much, do you?**" Leliana asked.

Agron shook his head saying "**not particularly, no. Doesn't I mean hate her or anything, you know I hate very few things in this world.**"

"**It's because she's nobility. Given your history I can understand, but she's a good person. She's done a lot of good and she treats people fairly.**" Leliana said in defense of her friend.

"**Aye, she's done a lot of good. She pieced together a broken world, and I can tell she's a good person who cares. She's what the world needed, but here... I disagree**" Agron said simply.

He was simply stating a fact Leliana noted. He respected Lyanna and the Inquisition, he didn't hate or work against them, he simply disagreed on Anders.

"**What would you have said if we had spoken... before? Would I have been able to stop you? You decided then didn't you? You decided you would kill Anders**" Leliana said slowly upon hearing his words.

"**I wanted to see you. But I don't know what I would have said, maybe I'd have told you what I was planning to do. But the Inquisitor was there**." Agron answered.

"**That's an excuse. You could have tried again**" Leliana countered with a flicker of annoyance.

Agron shook his head saying "**I had plans to make, and you were busy.**"

_Ah, so he had made up his mind after all. There is nothing I could have said that would have stopped him. Nothing I could have done. One way or another, whether in a day or a year... he would have killed Anders _Leliana thought.

She knew how he thought, she knew how skilled he was, how his movements were nay undetectable, on par with Leliana herself, she knew the scars and burns that littered his torso, lessons to never again be repeated, she knew _him._

"Tell me, how did you do it... and why?" Leliana said taking another sip of her tea.

Agron put his cup down and turned to her.

"**I did it because he was my responsibility**" Agron said beginning his final tale.

* * *

_**The Last Night of Anders**_

Anders sat alone in his cell.

It was near pitch black, the torch lights lining the dungeons walls had nearly gone out, and they wouldn't be relit until the morning. He couldn't tell how long he'd been sitting like this now, in truth he no longer cared. He knew that one way or another, they'd find a way to use the Right on him.

To strip him of emotion and his connection to the Fade.

That was to be his Fate. The Inquisitor would use him as an example, his punishment a message to any and all rebellious mages.

_At least my kind is free of the Chantry _Anders thought. He told himself that a lot lately, the one thought giving him a kind of hope, a light of redemption in the pit of darkness that was his life these days.

His back was beginning to hurt, and his tears had dried upon his face long ago, but in truth he didn't care anymore. Bethany had called him a 'monster' and in some ways, he could understand that.

It's wasn't just Anders though, the world was filled with monsters. Just look at what Sebastian Veal had become. Look at what the templars had done. At what the Lord Seeker had done.

Anders pulled his knees to his chest and let out a heavy, tired, breath, as he stared with hollowed empty eyes at the chains along his limbs. He closed his eyes, he truly did feel a hundred years old these days, probably looked much worse too.

He opened his eyes and stared sadly at his feet, before noticing something... odd.

There was more light in the dungeons then there had been when he'd closed his eyes deep in thought, someone had re-lit a torch along the walls near his cell.

Anders's eyes widened as suddenly a shadow was cast over his figure... a shadow that had not been there before.

He let out a startled breath and twisted, falling to the floor in his haste as the chains dragged him down. Anders groaned before looking up. Standing just outside his cell... was a lone figure.

The man stood watching over him, he hadn't made a single sound on his way over. Not a single footstep, and now he stood looking at Anders through the bars of his cell.

The lone figure wore a common servants' uniform, but for him to move as he did... he was no mere servant.

Anders slowly got to his knees and stared wide eyed at the curiously grey eyes watching over him.

"You... you're real. I saw you!" Anders said pointing a finger at the man.

The man tilted his head at him.

"In the crowd... when the templars escorted me to the Inquisitor's throne room, you were _there_. You were in the crowd and I saw you!" Anders shouted as he stumbled forward onto the bars of his cell.

"Yes" the man said.

Anders let out a laugh on the verge of madness, yet another familiar face he had never expected to see again. In truth, he was sure he'd been going mad when he'd spotted the figure in the red traveling cloak amid the crowd.

He grabbed onto the bars of his cell as he felt new tears beginning to form, but no. They wouldn't come, he'd already wasted them all alone in his dark cell hours ago.

"Agron" he said weakly. Anders felt a wave of emotion hit him, and looked away unable to meet his old friend's eyes anymore.

He felt a hand gently land across his own, hard calloused hands that nonetheless reassured Anders in this dark, dark, night that was most likely his last.

Agron Tabris, the Hero of Ferelden, former Warden Commander of Amaranthine, and one of the oldest and truest friends that Anders had ever known.

"Hello old friend" Agron said in that quiet yet forceful way of his.

Anders looked up at him and managed to smile in spite everything.

"Your scar?" Anders said gaping as he looked at Agron's face and saw only plain skin, before continuing "what happened to your scar?"

"I covered it up, easier for people to forget me that way" Agron answered with a shrug.

The Hero of Ferelden looked Anders up and down, his hand never leaving his old friend's as he did so, before he finally spoke.

"They weren't kidding when they said you looked like a corpse"

Anders scoffed saying "yeah well, I've been on the run haven't I?"

"Not doing a very good job of it, I'd say" Agron countered in that dark tone he was infamous for.

_A joke, even now... ha! I approve _Anders thought snickering.

He laughed weakly even as Agron released the grip on his hand, and Anders sat back hearing the familiar rattling of his chains.

"So" Anders said looking hopeful.

"Hmm?" Agron said.

"You gonna bust me out? What's the plan? I'll never be as quiet as you, but I'll follow as best I can. If that doesn't work, I reckon the two of us could take on _anything_. Even the blighted Inquisitor if we had too, it'll be just like the good old days" Anders said smirking.

He made a peculiar sight, looking half a corpse with the greying hair, the scars, the shadows under his eyes, gaunt look about him, and the dried tears on his face.

"No" Agron said simply, his quiet yet forceful voice seeming to ring in Anders's ears as the news came crashing down.

Anders felt his hopes and dreams die in that one moment. The smirk fell from his face and he let out haggard breath after haggard breath.

"Why not?" he asked in barely a whisper.

"I'm good, but no one's that good. Even if I got you out, what then? I am supposed to stash you somewhere then smuggle you out? And where would I do that?

Where could you go where the Inquisition couldn't find you? You can barely walk, I'd have to carry you and then we'd be spotted for sure.

**No**" Agron answered.

"Oh come on! You... you're the strongest person I ever known! The things I witnessed! You should have died a hundred times over! Yet you never did... you did the impossible time and time again" Anders said growing angry.

"The fact that I did those things, proves that they were in fact... possible" Agron countered.

"So maybe I can barely walk... but I can still cast. I'd give those bastards a fight, together we could bust out of here no problem. The Inquisitor? You can take her!" Anders said nearly shouting.

"I've no interest in fighting the Inquisitor" Agron said.

Anders hung his head low, and sighed heavily. Of course, nothing in his life had ever gone his way, this world would have never allowed that it seemed.

"And I've no intention of taking on the Inquisition. I respect the organization and this 'Lyanna Trevelyan'. She's made a force for good in the world, the Inquisition brought peace and stability to Thedas, ended _your _war, and saved the world" Agron continued.

"Yet she uses the Rite of Tranquility? Mad woman, what in Thedas did I ever do to her! That's a fate worse than dead... who is she to judge me worthy of _that_" Anders spat bitterly.

He would been alright with execution, he would have accepted his death despite the fear, he'd have gone on believing, or at least hoping, that he'd done some good on his way out.

"I agree with you Anders" Agron said suddenly.

Anders looked up, eyes wide. "You do?" he questioned.

"The Right of Tranquility is something that should have never been used. I can understand why it was invented, but it's barbaric. A form of torture you could argue" Agron continued.

Anders let out a cold laugh saying "humph, and here I thought you 'liked' the Inquisitor."

The Hero of Ferelden shook his head.

"I said I respected her and her deeds. Don't put words in my mouth" Agron said.

Anders watched as the Hero of Ferelden sat down just outside his cell, they were on equal eye level now and Anders's appreciated the gesture.

"She freed the mages, but she's a mad bitch" Anders spat to the floor.

Agron seemed to consider that.

"I don't particularly like her either. She's nobility. Better than most, I'll give her that. But she's grown up in privilege and no matter how kind she may be, she still has the flaws that come with highborn."

"Oh?" Anders asked.

"You know I met her? I stood right in front of her, and she never once questioned who I was? Pitiful, she never once looked at my face or asked my name" Agron said.

Anders snorted at that.

_No one is above criticism, not you, not even me _

Those were words that Agron had once told Anders many years ago when they were in the Wardens, all this time and he'd never forgotten them.

"You spit in her food or something? Maker, please tell me you did" Anders said.

"I wouldn't do that. I hate very few things in this world, and I do not hate her" Agron said.

"I know" Anders sighed, but how he wished Agron had.

"You look like shit, here I brought us drinks" Agron said suddenly.

Anders blinked, and noticed for the first time that Agron had not appeared in front of his cell empty handed. The Hero of Ferelden had come carrying a bottle and two cups in hand, with the emotion and surprise of their reunion Anders had failed to notice it.

"I did always tell you to watch your surroundings" Agron said, seeming to read Anders's thoughts as he set the two cups down.

"Water?" Anders asked. His throat felt sore and dry, he regretted throwing his food at the templars and the jail keepers, but in his fear and despair he hadn't been thinking clearly.

"No, wine" Agron answered as he poured the dark liquid into the first cup, and then into the second, and Anders watched with wary eyes.

_He come all the way down here... to share drinks with me? _Anders thought confused.

Anders blinked as his old friend slide him a cup of wine through the bars of his cell, he took the cup slowly even as Agron brought his own cup to his lips and took a long drink.

He watched as Agron gulped down the wine before letting out a sigh of relief, and muttering "nothing like some alcohol to brighten the night."

Anders shook his head, his old friend was the strangest man he'd ever known, then brought his own cup to his lips and took a quick sip.

"Glad to actually have something to drink down here. Nothing but dirty water and stale bread for days" Anders muttered after taking another drink.

"Everyone deserves a good meal now and then, should have brought some decent food. Sorry." Agron said speaking as calmly as if they two friends in a tavern and not in the Skyhold dungeons.

Anders smirked in spite of everything.

The two of them would have made quite the sight indeed, a hero and living legend sitting outside the cell of a war criminal, two infamous men sharing a drink in the dark.

"... Why are you here" Anders asked seriously.

Agron froze and he looked up meeting Anders's gaze with his own. He had already said he wouldn't free Anders, yet here he was joining him in the dark and bringing him wine.

"I wanted to speak with my friend. One last time" Agron answered.

"About what? It's not like I have much to say anyway" Anders said bitterly.

"Wrong, I'm curious about something" Agron countered calm as ever.

"Hmm" Anders asked with a shrug as he leaned back putting his back to the wall of his cell, and getting as comfortable as one could in chains.

"I wasn't there when the grievances against you were heard. I wasn't there when the Inquisitor judged you. They say you had quite the talk with the her before she sentenced you to Tranquility" Agron said.

"Crazy lady, that one. I asked her why she freed the mages and she said it was the right thing to do. She asked me if I felt sorry for what I'd done in Kirkwall" Anders said with a shrug.

He took another drink of Agron's wine.

"She did what you could not, she saved the mages" Agron said and Anders froze mid gulp as those words hit him again. It wasn't anything new, he'd told himself much the same, but still... he wanted to believe he'd started with the Inquisitor finished.

"Do you feel sorry, for what you did?" Agron continued looking at him unblinkingly.

"I don't. Agron... I'd did it again knowing what I know now" Anders said, and his old friend looked at him with sad eyes that had seen far too much for his age. Pity.

That look gave Anders a bad taste in his mouth, and so he took another drink of the wine clutching the cup a bit harder than he meant too.

Agron closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath.

"The templars claim this is the result of an Abomination. That you are living proof that mages cannot be trusted, that the 'freaks' will become possessed and wreak havoc upon the world" Agron said coldly.

"Blighted idiots" Anders murmured.

He raised the cup to his mouth again, but pursed his lips sadly at the realization that it was empty. Anders had drank all of the wine already.

"I agree, the templars are wrong. Wrong about you, anyway" Agron said suddenly.

Anders arched an eyebrow at that saying "what?"

Agron gave him that same sad look again saying "the templars got you wrong. I'd say most people did, they look at you and see a mage corrupted by a demon into a fanatic."

"I'm not-" Anders began.

"Yes, you were never corrupted" Agron interrupted.

Silence filled the room, as what Agron was implying hit Anders.

"None of these people ever knew you, knew the real you as I did. The young man I saved from the templars and made a Warden.

Even then... I saw it inside you. The darkness hidden under the silly mask you wore for the world to see, I thought I could help you. Give you purpose with the Wardens" Agron said.

"I never asked you to do that. Maker, Agron... I was so young. I was sooooo young and you made me into a Warden. You gave me a death sentence long before all this mess, it wasn't fair... after you left I couldn't stand the Wardens. You don't understan-" Anders began.

"You were young were you? I was only _nineteen _years old when I was made a Grey Warden." Agron cut in coldly.

Anders froze, in truth most people forgot how young the Hero of Ferelden had been during the Blight. Even among the Wardens, people were astounded at how young he'd been.

"Nineteen, and I bore the weight of the world on my shoulders. I had to end a blight, bring together allies, and slay an archedemon.

I didn't have advisers, a spy network, or an army, but I united Ferelden, ended that civil war, and I saved the world. Then when it was over, I did my duty. I didn't run off trying to play hero again" Agron said sternly.

Anders's hands began trembling, and he rose his anger flaring as he threw the now empty wine cup at Agron.

Agron squeezed a hand into the cell and _caught_ the cup before it could hit the bars of the cell, it would have surely shattered into pieces if Agron hadn't caught it.

"Playing hero? Please, you just don't get it. You're not a mage! You didn't see the abuse of the templars and the seekers, you didn't see Meredith! I may have deserted the Wardens, but I had my reasons and don't you dare judge me too!" Anders shouted.

Agron didn't even flinch at Anders words, didn't even rise as Anders now towered over him from behind the bars of his cell. The Hero only calmly squeezed his hand out of Anders's cell and set the empty cup down.

"You think I don't understand abuse?" Agron asked in a low dangerous tone.

Anders flinched involuntary, very few people had ever gotten the Hero of Ferelden upset and lived to tell the tale.

"I understand better than most. Anders, I'm not some noble like the Inquisitor. I grew up a city elf in the Alienage. All I knew was poverty and abuse, that was my _childhood. _

I saw elves whipped in the streets for stealing food, I saw my father clean a table even as the humans spat on it. I saw my father ridiculed for teaching himself to read.

Before I became a Warden, my would-be-wife, my cousins, and my friends were taken against their will by some noble and they were raped! I rescued them, but the damage had already been done. And _no one _cared.

Later, Loghain sold my people into slavery by the dozens. Shipped off elf after elf to tevinter, I put a stop to it. But _no one _cared until I made them care!

So don't say I don't understand abuse or injustice" Agron said in that quiet yet forceful way of his.

Anders didn't know what to say to that, for this was someone who could understand the way Anders felt. Anders had been angry about the world his people lived in, but so to had Agron.

"The darkness I saw in you that day... I used to have that too. I still remember killing that bastard Vaughan for raping my cousin, but I also remember how empty it felt. His death didn't change anything. I was so angry, I wanted to make the humans pay for how they treated elves. You were the same way" Agron said suddenly.

"Even then, you could see it couldn't you. What I was planning with Justice?" Anders said darkly.

Agron nodded saying "I knew you pretended to disagree at first, you were afraid. But Justice reminded you of the wrongs against your kind and so you took action. I should have stopped it when I had the chance, I should have reassigned you."

Then, Agron rose and when he did, it had much more dramatic effect.

"The templars are wrong. **Justice didn't corrupt you... you corrupted Justice**" Agron said sternly.

Anders stepped back shaking his head.

"No one was corrupted" Anders said in a low hurt voice.

Agron shook his head saying "I knew the both of you before you merged. Justice became a demon and you become an avenger. That's not possession, what you did works two ways, not one. Justice gave instead of taking, and you did the same.

It was the darkness you carried, your hatred for the templars, you didn't mean too... but it happened away. Justice absorbed all that hatred and in doing so... he became Vengeance."

Anders felt his world shatter before him.

It was something he had never let himself truly believe, but somewhere inside he'd always suspected it. Justice had not been so cold during the beginning, but later he had changed. Anders had convinced himself that it was Justice, but it was him.

His darkness that had taken root and had seeped further and further into Justice, changing the spirit into something twisted.

"So, tell me Anders. When were you raped?" Agron asked suddenly.

"... how did you know?" Anders asked in barely a whisper.

"I grew up in an Alienage. I know what abuse looks like, I know what a rape victim looks like, the body may heal but some wounds never recover" was Agron's answer.

Anders sank to the floor and leaned back against the wall of his cell, his head in his hands as the memories came back to him.

He'd never told anyone. No one would have believed him when it happened, and as the years went on he tried to forget. But no, shock and pain grew into rage and despair.

"I was ten years old. Some templar pulled me aside one day and said that if I screamed he'd kill me. Said that if I told anyone that he'd kill me and that no one would believe me. He brought me to the stables when no one was looking... I never even learned who the son of a bitch was" Anders said, his head cradled in his hands.

He didn't look up. If he could have he would have cried, but his tears had been used up long ago.

"I am sorry Anders... I am sorry that you were born into a world as cruel as ours. I'm sorry that I could not help you. There is so much injustice in this world, and in the end, we are what the world has made us into" Agron said softly.

Anders scoffed, slowly raising his head from his hands and looking up at his old friend again.

"The world's gone to shit huh? The Grey Wardens' reputation is ruined, Nathaniel is in trouble, all my old friends hate me, Hawke's gone, and they want to make me tranquil" Anders said weakly.

"I will not say you're a hero, you're not. The path to hell is paved with good intentions, but you had a role to play for better or worse. The Inquisition is what changed things in the end. But I can tell you this.

**Change is never easy... and there's always a price to be paid.**

The Mage-Templar war, Corypheus, the Lord Seeker, Divine Justinia, the Inquisitor, and even you Anders. You all had a part to play in freeing the mages from the chantry. Any one of those pieces removed and we wouldn't be here." Agron said.

"The people still hate me. And soon... soon I'll just be another empty vessel. Just another tranquil" Anders said darkly.

"No, you won't" Agron said.

_What?_ Anders thought. He looked up at Agron again confused.

"Tranquility is barbaric. As one last favor to an old friend, I give you the gift of mercy" Agron said.

Anders rose again and spoke in a small _terrified _voice saying "you... you're going to kill me?"

"**I killed you ten minutes ago**" Agron said softly.

Anders let out a stifled breath and stumbled back at those words, his body shook as he looked at the cups in Agron's hands.

The cup that Anders had thrown when he'd finished the wine.

"Something I picked up from a friend in the Antivan Crows. It's not the wine, _it's the cup_. Your cup, that had a coating in it's bottom that causes a chemical reaction upon contact with alcohol, you drank the poison without ever knowing it" Agron said simply.

Suddenly Anders felt himself growing weaker, his vision was beginning to darken, and the world around him began to blur as he started losing his sight.

He felt his legs growing weak, and he found himself on his knees, his heart pounding in his chest, and inside he felt Justice stirring again.

Felt the spirit that had turned demon roaring in anger, but the Inquisition had built his cell with templar iron, his magic and connection to the Fade were blocked here.

There was nothing Justice could do.

Anders spasmed as felt his body failing him, his organs beginning to shut down.

"Agh... Agron" Anders moaned as he fought to stay on his knees, but it was a losing battle.

Anders slumped forward, falling over, but Agron squeezed his hands through the cell bars and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"There's no pain. Don't worry, I won't let you die alone" Agron said in a low sad voice.

"You... you killed me" Anders groaned in shock.

"A mercy, you can die as a man and not an empty vessel wasting away year by year. Rest easy friend, this life has been cruel to you and made you cruel in turn. May the next one... grant you some measure of peace" Agron said.

The Hero of Ferelden held Anders as he lay dying.

There was no pain, his sensing seemed to dull and he felt himself drifting off, almost like falling asleep.

Anders looked up at his friend one last time, his vision nearly gone, and only seeing a blurred figure holding him as he slipped further and further away.

"Thank... you" he whispered. Anders died with his eyes open, the shadow of a small smile on his face.

He had looked a corpse in his last days in life, and those last days had been filled with tragedy.

"Goodbye" Agron said softly.

Slowly, the Hero of Ferelden laid Anders on the floor of his cell.

The elf stepped back, and stood pulling a pair of gloves and a lockpick from his belt. Picking the lock on Anders's cell would have proven difficult for even the best of Orlesian Bards, but for Agron it merely took time and patience.

_Click_

The lock was undone, and Agron carefully pulled the cell door open... and stepped inside.

Agron slipped the gloves over his hands, before reaching behind his back and unsheathing the knife he'd hidden underneath his shirt and behind his belt.

"Forgive me, but it'll throw the investigation off. Better this way" Agron said to the corpse of his friend before him.

Agron knelt down, knife in his gloved hand, and grabbed Anders from behind hauling him up. Holding the knife in an upward angle, Agron brought the blade to Anders's throat and sliced it open.

When someone dies, it takes time for the blood to cool, and the patterns that the cold blood makes when it comes into contact with the environment tells a story. That story is what the investigators follow, as they can track and prove it.

And so Agron carefully slid Anders's corpse to the floor, making sure not to get any blood on himself as he did so, and let the knife in his hands fall to floor in proportion to where Anders's body lay.

To an outsider, a single incised wound to the neck at a slight upward angle that looked as if it came from Anders's own hands. A suicide or violent death.

Agron stepped back as the still bright red warm blood ran down Anders's body, staining his clothes, before beginning to pool in a puddle beneath his corpse.

No a single drop had touched Agron himself, and the elf stepped out of Anders's cell closing the door. Placing the lockpick back in the keyhole, Agron maneuvered the lock into clicking once again.

The elf shook the door making sure that it was locked tight, the same as it had been when he'd arrived, and turned.

Agron strode to the torch he'd re-lit along the walls near Anders's cell, and he put it out, enveloping the hallway in near pitch blackness.

The Hero of Ferelden stood alone in the darkness for one moment that seemed to last forever, before he turned and moved silently through the dark maze that was the Skyhold dungeon.

...

It was the guards patrolling the dungeons whom found Anders body in the early morning.

The men spotted the bloodied corpse and panicked, they immediately ran to inform their superiors and they in turn informed Cullen. In the guards' hurried panic, running from one person to the other to spread the word, they failed to notice a lone figure slipping out of the dungeons.

Agron hadn't been seen once on his way out, and once out he merely walked as if he had somewhere to be, some duty to attend to.

He could have been any old servant working a shift in the early morning.

Cullen was the first superior to be led to Anders's cell by the guards, and from there he ordered his men to keep things quiet, and sent for the Inquisitor only saying that it was an urgent matter.

* * *

When Agron had finished his tale, Leliana only stared at him silence. Her cup of tea, untouched for some time now, had gone cold and she set it down with a thud that somehow brought finality to Agron's story.

"He was raped" Leliana said slowly, barely believing it.

"It was more common than we think, a lot of kids who never got to grow up. A lot of kids the templars killed, the bloody side of the templars" Agron said.

Leliana flinched at those words, she knew those things had happened. But to realize she'd known a victim, and that the templars got away with so much... she decided to change the subject.

"Poison? Why did I never think to check that?" Leliana said muttering to herself.

Agron shrugged saying "his throat was cut open and it looked like he bled out. That was the point, you can't find what you aren't looking for."

"Those cups... Zevran?" Leliana asked. Agron nodded.

The Inquisition's spy master closed her eyes in frustration, this knowledge changed everything. And Agron's tale had in fact proven that Skyhold was not impenetrable. That their fortress, even with all it's soldiers, and all of Leliana's agents, could be outmaneuvered.

"He was my responsibility, Leliana. His experiences with the templars made him into who he became, but I thought I could help him. I failed. _I_ introduced Justice to Anders in that swap years ago. I recruited both of them" Agron said darkly.

Leliana opened her eyes and turned to him, her voice heavy with emotion as she spoke.

"And so you decide to take action into your own hands. You chose to undermine the Inquisition and the Inquisitor by defying her judgment and executing a prisoner she had wanted alive."

Agron rose to his feet and shook his head, he didn't face her as he did so.

"Alive? Both of us have seen the Tranquil. We _saw_ them in the Ferelden Circle all those years ago. They have no sense of purpose, they care for nothing, they want nothing, and they have no sense of self. A fate worse than death" Agron said.

"That's not the point" Leliana countered.

Agron turned to face her, he wanted to speak, she could see that, but he _knew _her as she knew him, and so he said nothing and let her have her say.

Leliana rose to stand beside her lover.

"Anders is a war criminal, and he was a potentially dangerous symbol. The Inquisitor would have used him as a message, she seemed cruel, even I can see that. But the world has changed in so little a time, the mages have more freedom than ever, but they are still a danger. Anders was to prove to everyone, that crimes must be punished. Even the other mages understood that, even the First Enchanter" Leliana said her eyes never leaving Agron's.

The elf closed his eyes and tilted his head taking a deep breath, a look of such sadness buried under his mask of calm. Sadness from a man whom had seemed to have lived several lifetimes.

"You didn't stop to think, you just... acted. You-" Leliana said before Agron interrupted her.

"That's all I've ever done, Leliana. You know that, you knew that even when I was a nineteen year boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I didn't have advisers, I didn't have a fortress, I didn't play 'the game' with the other politicians. It was me... me alone. I have always acted on my own" Agron said.

Leliana flinched at his words, and she remembered the odd but kind boy she'd met all those years ago in Lothering. The nineteen year old Warden who would become the Hero of Ferelden.

"Will you turn me over to the Inquisition?" Agron asked cutting to the heart of the matter. "You'd run, and... I... I would have to..." Leliana began before trailing off unable to finish the sentence.

"Have to stop me? Aye, I can see that" Agron said simply.

Of the two of them, Agron was the better fighter, but Leliana was the better tracker. They knew how the other thought, they knew each others' bodies, knew each other weaknesses and strengths, yet both of them had no desire to fight the other if it came to that.

_He'd win... he'd win if we fought but it wouldn't be easy _Leliana thought.

"I will not fight you Leliana, I could never do anything to hurt you. Do what you must, I will not try to stop you" Agron said meeting her eyes with his.

Leliana's hands tightened into fist and she looked away. _From poverty, yet so noble even now, even in the face of this _she thought.

"Never again... you will never work against the Inquisition again. _Ever. _No one will know the truth. Now go... go before I change my mind" Leliana said harshly and unable to meet his eyes.

"Thank you" Agron said in the quiet yet forceful way of his.

He took two steps forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What does this mean for us?" he asked in a soft voice, tired and worried.

Leliana still wouldn't meet his eyes. Their lives had been anything but easy, both pulled away on matters and duties, but they'd made each other happy and their time together was something they both would always treasure.

But this was different, this could change things forever.

"I... I don't know" Leliana softly.

Agron leaned forward and gently lay his forehead against hers. "I don't want it to end" he said and she put a hand on his chest.

"Neither do I" Leliana said in barely a whisper.

Agron stepped back and turned to go. Leliana watched him as he headed for the stairs, his disguise forgotten, he wouldn't need it any more, but he stopped just as he reached the door.

He glanced back at her, the scar on his face illuminated by the candle light, and spoke saying "when the times comes, and the Chantry holds your coronation to Divine. I will be there."

Leliana stared at him wide eyed, her heart beating faster.

"If you want to turn me away then... I will understand" he said.

Then without another word, he headed down the steps of Leliana's tower, barely making a sound as he disappeared into the early morning.

* * *

True to her word, Leliana never told anyone the truth.

The Inquisitor and the Inquisition moved on to other matters, they had to keep the peace in an ever changing world. And it seemed the mystery of Anders's death would forever remain unsolved.

Days later, in the tunnels of the Deep Roads two figures walked onward.

Blades in hand, and the fresh corpses of several Darkspawn littered at their feet, as they walked further and further into the Deep Roads. One in a dark red traveling cloak, and the other in black leather armor.

Agron Tabris and Nathaniel Howe.

"You could have told me you were there at Skyhold" Nathaniel was complaining as they walked onward. The Grey Warden had nearly jumped out of his skin when he'd left Skyhold days ago, only to find himself being followed by a lone figure in a red traveling cloak.

Agron shook his head saying "you'd have let something slip, you're a terrible liar."

"Humph, you're probably right. How did you know I'd convince the Inquisitor to give his ashes to the Wardens?" Nathaniel said.

"Because I know you. And you are a good man" Agron said turning his grey eyes to his old friend.

"I... thank you" Nathaniel said after a shocked moment. His commander very rarely gave compliments.

"There's something you want to ask me, stop waiting and do it" Agron said suddenly.

Nathaniel scoffed and shook his head, nothing did get by his old commander.

"You're different... the taint you had... it's like... like it's" Nathaniel began but he couldn't finish the words.

"Gone" Agron suggested.

Nathaniel nodded uneasily, and perhaps hopeful.

"Yes and no, I am different. My journey to the west was not without profit. _If _I am right, and if it worked, then I have news to share with the other Wardens. All of them" Agron said slowly.

"Maker" Nathaniel said nearly breathless as they walked on blades in hand.

The two Wardens reached the spot they'd been looking for, a ridge deep into the old tunnels where once Darkspawn had controlled it. Long ago, many Wardens had given their lives to push the blighted things back.

Nathaniel sighed saying "here we are."

Agron watched as his fellow Warden knelt down and withdrew a plain urn from his traveling bag and carefully set it down on the ridge they stood upon.

Anders's ashes.

The two Wardens were silent for a moment, before Agron spoke saying "never gets easy does it."

Nathaniel cursed saying "no, it doesn't."

Grey Wardens didn't have long life spans, their works was dangerous, and the Calling always just around the corner, sooner or later... or maybe not if Agron had anything to say on that matter.

"Never feels right, so many friends dead and gone" Nathaniel said darkly.

"That's the way the world is, kid. It hurts, but all we can do is remember them" Agron said.

Agron and Nathaniel were very nearly the last of the Wardens left from when Amaranthine was given to the Wardens. Very nearly the last of the Wardens that Agron had personally recruited.

Years ago, Velanna had ran after her sister in the Deep Roads, and they'd found her corpse on patrol more than a week later. Sigrun, true to her name as Legion of the Dead, had given her life in battle with the Darkspawn and had been given full honors.

Justice in the body of the Warden Kristoff, had disappeared the same day as Anders had. Justice had merged with Anders, and now both of them were dead.

Killed by Agron's own hand.

So many friends that Agron and Nathaniel had seen come and go.

_Wynne... I now know what you meant by the pain of the elderly _Agron thought sadly. She might not have been a Warden, but Agron had counted her a friend and motherly figure. Now she was gone too.

Nathaniel rose, the urn with Anders's ashes in hand, and gently opened the lid.

Anders's ashes fell and scattered over the ridge into the Deep Roads. It was the Grey Warden's way, when a Warden died before the Calling, or else was killed in the line of duty.

There were exceptionss however, Wardens who ended a blight by delivering the killing blow to an Archdemon were given a place in Weisshaupt to be remember as legends of their age. When Agron's day came, he was sure some Warden or other would probably take his ashes there instead of the Deep Roads, but he tried not to think about it.

"Anders, you were many things in this life. A friend, a Warden, and perhaps a monster. You killed many in Kirkwall, yet you also saved lives in the battle for Amaranthine. Whatever history will say about you... I will remember the good you did and the bad. Farewell" Agron said as the ashes scattered across the Deep Roads.

"You were an insufferable ass in life, you know that Anders. You never shut up... but you saved my life. And the life of my sister. I don't know what people will say about you, but I will remember that. Thank you... and goodbye" Nathaniel said sadly.

The two Wardens bowed their heads in silence, before both turning to leave.

_**History would not remember what little good Anders had done, they would remember him only as a rebellious and dangerous abomination, as the man who started the Mage-Templar war.**_

_**Those who knew him would remember him for different things, and perhaps two former comrades could remember him as a dear friend who made many a wrong choice in his life.**_

_**After all, what are we but what the world as made us into? **_


End file.
